Best rope for main halyard

rs600,

You can use the stopper ball method of attaching the halyard but be careful, its difficult to see if you have any chafe leading to failure, and if the stopper ball isnt exactly straight or if the rope is slightly to tight a fit then it will crack the kevlar.

Anyway you'll have to tied a figure of eight or alternative in the rope to hold the stopper ball and the knot will be big enough to hold the halyard so save yourself the expense of the stopper ball!

Medway Maniac, I'm fully aware of all the arguments for 2:1 halyards including the theoretical loads cases, but they dont stack up. Its 11:00pm I've had a tough day including a trip to the Physio and my bain has packed up for the day so cant remember the reasons why its not all its cracked upto be, maybe I'll remember in the morning.

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Edited by farc anal

Kevlar indeed doesnt like going around tight corners but as long as its loaded along its length it is incredibly strong and doesnt stretch. It makes Dyneema look like elastic!

I use a standard 1:1 halyard on my 700 as I did on the 600 and at the head I tie a figure of eight in the end of the halyard thread this through the head of the main and then tie a half hitch, the figure of eight stops the halfhitch from undoing itself and the only tight turn in the rope is the figure of eight. Every month ish I tie another figure of eight about 1.5cm further along the halyard and they last for ages.

On my 49er both main and job halyards were Herzog with loops in the end that fitted over a conventional halyard rack. I liked the simplicity of that arrangement, but getting hold of Herzog seems nie on impossible now. I'm guessing the nearest replacement is Holts own brand vectran, which I now use for my kicker cascade.

In both the 600 and 700 there has been a midfleet trend to go for 2:1 halyards but to me it doesnt make sense. Sure it makes pulling the sail up easier but once its at the top the mechanical advantage disappears, and if you cant quite get it all the way up then you effectively increase the amount of rope able to stretch. Not only does the halyard cost more (its longer) but you have a massive bundle of rope to stash away when sailing (Not so bad on the 700 now we have a halyard bag on the spinni sock.

Its also important to check the cleat on 600s as they tend to wear. Its not uncommon to see 6s 7s & 8s with two sets of cleats one above the other in order to reduce the likely hood of slip.

Originally posted by Lukepiewalker Kevlar not keen on going round corners. You can get vectran as a 'conventional' covered rope, ie http://shop.pinbax.com/index.asp?selection=detailed&uid= 10723&itemtitle=Vectran%20(4mm%20Dia)

Seconded

Its what i use now and i find it brilliant lasts yonks and it shows before it snaps i have found

Kevlar not keen on going round corners.
You can get vectran as a 'conventional' covered rope, ie

http://shop.pinbax.com/index.asp?selection=detailed&uid= 10723&itemtitle=Vectran%20(4mm%20Dia)