I'm replacing the mainsail on my B39CR-2005, which has a Selden in-mast furling mast. I want to renew also the main halyard.
The current halyard has two parts: a metal wire and a rope. I can't tell how the two are joined so I'm not sure how to replace the rope part.
My main question is: can the whole halyard be replaced with a single new textile halyard such a dyneema-core braid, or does the Selden system need the wire/rope combination? Specifically, does the sail's head swivel work with a rope halyard, or does it need a particular termination?. Any tips on removing the old halyard and pulling the new one through, such as using a messenger line?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
They will be spliced and rusty at the splice, so you'll typically have to discard both. If you want to replace like for like, you'll need to splice it or find a rigger to do so, who can also supply the wire. However these aren't popular anymore and typically replaced with a single modern low-stretch rope instead. This however means replacing the sheave at the top of the mast, as it will be V shaped for wire and also chewed up by it, destroying new rope in short order. The new sheave should be standard round (U) shape for rope.
At the top there isn't much room so the attachment to the sail should be no larger than it was before, which usually means a spliced eye, not a knot.
Yes, always use a mouse line, getting them in the mast otherwise can be tedious.
Thanks, that clears things up. It's more involved than I thought, so I'll start by asking a rigger about switching to a full rope halyard with a new sheave.