Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
My boat has two lines coming down from the top of the mast on the aft side. I know which one is the main halyard, (just because it has a snap shackle on it's end) but why would I have a second one.? When I bought the boat it came with all new standing rigging and included the topping lift kit from CD. But the topping lift had not yet been installed. I installed that myself. The boat did not have a pigtail on the backstay so I am wondering if the second line was being used as a topping lift. Can anyone think of another reason for it to be there ? And should I just leave it there as an emergency halyard sense its already there or remove it. Thanks again.
I'm guessing the one with the shackle goes through sheaves on the starboard side of the mast-head--that's normal for a main halyard. Is the other coming from sheaves on the port side? That would be the jib/genoa halyard (perhaps with the shackle removed?) If you have a CDI furler, which has its own jib halyard, that line could be used as a spinnaker or drifter halyard. If it's fixed to the top of the mast, either to one of the clevis pins or to an eye-strap, I'd guess it was an earlier, perhaps cruder version of a topping lift.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Yes, the line with the shackle is coming from the starboard sheave on the aft side of the masthead. The other is coming from the port side sheave also aft side of the masthead. I have an Alado furling system and it also has it's own halyard system so I also have another halyard on the forward side of the mast that I assume is the spinnaker halyard. I also have an exit block on the front of the mast below the height of the spreaders. But no line coming out of it. I assume that is for the spinnaker pole lift ? I can only guess that the second aft halyard was the original,(not stock) topping lift. The end of the line is kinked so it could have been tied to the boom end fitting. Of course it might have been tied to a shackle that was removed. Who knows. Thanks again.
Yes, the line with the shackle is coming from the starboard sheave on the aft side of the masthead. The other is coming from the port side sheave also aft side of the masthead. I have an Alado furling system and it also has it's own halyard system so I also have another halyard on the forward side of the mast that I assume is the spinnaker halyard...
Now it sounds like you have internal halyards, which I didn't know were available on a '79 (although I think it became standard around '88-89). Most of the older boats, my '85 included, have external halyards, each of which goes over two sheaves, fore and aft, on the mast-head. A topping lift can go to a clevis pin on the mast-head, and a spin halyard generally needs a separate "crane" and block on those boats. Apparently yours was re-rigged somewhere along the line.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Yes, my boat has internal Halyards, all line. I checked CDs site for tall rig masthead and in their description they said early boats used 4 sheaves, 2 forward and 2 aft, and internal Halyards. So I guess that's the right setup for my boat anyway. Thanks again everyone.
Yup, they say four sheaves on early boats, but that's for external halyards. Later years used internal halyards and therefore two sheaves. I still think yours was converted--a few folks here have done that.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
You are probably right. The POs of my boat seemed to like converting everything about my boat. Maybe they should have considered buying something closer to what they wanted. Who knows. thanks again.
The early boat with 4 sheaves and external halyards had wire/rope halyards. Owners, myself included, changed to all rope halyards, which meant changing the sheaves as well, and CD sold a kit to do this. Some of those owners, myself NOT included, went one more step and converted from external to internal halyards. With 4 sheaves, this allowed for a second jib/genoa halyard and a second line running aft which most likely was used for a main sail topping lift. I also converted my C22 from wire/rope to all rope halyards. I took one of the wire sections, shortened it and added a small block to it, and used it for the fixed portion of the C25's topping lift. A 1/4" line ran from the boom-end up to the block on the wire and back down to the boom to a block there and forward to a cleat.
DavidP 1975 C-22 SK #5459 "Shadowfax" Fleet 52 PO of 1984 C-25 SK/TR #4142 "Recess" Percy Priest Yacht Club, Hamilton Creek Marina, Nashville, TN
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.