F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

TonyB
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F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by TonyB »

Hi Folks,
a few weeks ago I had my main halyard chafe through on my F40/40. It chafed through right at the masthead. It happened in winds that came on suddenly and strong (30+ knts) but still I was surprised that it chaffed through (very quickly). I hadn't noticed any significant wear prior to that, although the halyard was old.

I was wondering if any one else has had issues with this? Any design issues with the masthead or sheave that would cause this? I have to have a rigger craned up to run the new one, so will have him inspect, but wondering if this is a common issue or not.

Thanks!
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by GeoffSchultz »

I have 50K+ miles on BlueJacket, and never had an issue. Now, if you were talking about the jib halyard, I would say yes. You need to have them check to see what it chaffed on.

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

TonyB
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by TonyB »

Good to know. Yes the Jib/Spinnaker box seems a bit problematic. I will probably pull the mast next fall and look at doing something with that set up to improve it. I know Carliane on her F38 replaced hers with a nice set up. Anything you have done with yours?
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

BillMA
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by BillMA »

Paul Dennis has a SS replacement for the jib box on the 40/40 that he designed and will special order when needed. Not inexpensive but substantial and a "must/should do" while performing mast work.
Bill in MA
Azura 2000 40/40

TonyB
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by TonyB »

Thanks Geoff. I saw his replacement box on his website. Good to know it is worth it! Well the rigger who went up the mast found that the main halyard sheave had a nick in it. Probably enough to tear into the line over time. They new halyard is much thinner so shouldn’t be near it. But will still replace the sheave pronto!
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

jlodolce
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by jlodolce »

I have F40/40 #16 tall rig. My main halyard snapped 2 days ago in light wind. I am blaming it on the halyard being 13 years old (my bad), but will have my rigger check the hardware at the masthead tomorrow when he goes up to replace the halyard.

However, I have been having a chafe problem with my jib halyard. This year, I struggle to pull the jib down, feeling that something is chafing above. I recently had to cut off 2 feet of line off the end (I have lots of extra length). This halyard is less than 2 years old, 7/16 Samson SLS3. After sailing perhaps 4-5 times after cutting off 2', the jib halyard is once again chafing at the same exact spot, 17-18" above the shackle, which I expect is where the halyard enters the mast. I will have to cut another 2' off.

My rigger went up and inspected a few weeks ago and could not find anything externally that he thought was a problem, but I am sure he is missing something. I am using a different rigger tomorrow for my main (we are away from home port) and will have the rigger look at the jib halyard hardware as well while he is up there.

Geoff, do you have any suggestions for what he should look for when he is up there?
Jim Lo Dolce
Lo Dolce Vita VII
Freedom 40/40 #16 1995
Sackets Harbor, NY (Lake Ontario)

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by GeoffSchultz »

WhenI get jib halyards, I add on an additional 10-12' because they seem to chafe at about that same spot. I think that one of the key things to do is to make sure that the jib halyard is very tight. Also, there's a piece of stainless that holds the jib topping lift that can provide a sharp edge that may cut into the line. Have you noticed if it's just chafing with the jib on 1 side or both? (You may only notice that on long passages where the jib is on 1 side for extended periods of time.)

Here's a photo of my jib box with tracers installed.
20070906_104248.jpg
20070906_104248.jpg (41.13 KiB) Viewed 3936 times
-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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jamesorr
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by jamesorr »

I had a similar issue with my jib halyard, which for me ended up being the exit from the jib box. I had no issues with halyard chafe for a number of years, until I was forced to re run the halyards due to a rodent chewing through my messenger lines in the off season. When I re-ran then, I had the jib halyard (7/16) running through the bottom sleeve and the spinnaker halyard (3/8) exiting the top sleeve (makes sense logically as well as how the owners manual diagrams it). However, on my boat, it looks like the bottom sleeve had some additional constrictions which impacted the ability of the thicker jib halyard to feed smoothly. Long story short, I reversed them (no doubt how they had originally been run), and the snagging issues went away.

Agree that the right solution would have been to "fix" the issue and run the jib halyard out the bottom sheave, but it had been working the opposite way for many years, and I saw no overriding reason to change the order.
James Orr
Orr What
1988 Freedom 32 (Mull)
Sodus Bay, NY

TonyB
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by TonyB »

Well I have been replacing my forestay and think I figured out why job chaffing problems occur there. The toggle for the forestay is right there and it has a clevis pin this a cotter pin through it. I think that cotter pin chaffes away at the job halyard. My guess is that because our masts are further forward on the boat, the angle of the forestay is steeper than on most boats so there is less room in that gap. And because we have flexible masts there is a lot more movement. When we put our new forestay on yesterday we used a ring instead of a cotter pin. And then tapped it with regular rigging tape and then over that with that super slippery clear rigging tape. We will see how it goes.
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

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RadioZephyr
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Re: F40/40 Main Halyard Chafe

Post by RadioZephyr »

Oh yes! I was always instructed to attach it with the cotter pin side facing upwards, which is counterintuitive. Everywhere else that I encounter clevis pins (e.g., sail slides), I install the cotter ring/pin on the bottom, so if it somehow falls out, I won’t immediately lose the pin. This is one exception to that general rule.
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

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