Furling jib cable halyard

[ryanandtracy]

So, the halyard on our furling jib is cable. With hurricane season upon us I would like to know how to remove the sail from the furler but I am having a hard time figuring out how its supposed to happen.

I have attached an image of how it is secured but cannot figure out:

1)how to disconnect it from the attachment point on the track?
2)how do I retrieve it once the sail has come down? About 3' up from the attachment point it goes into the mast (thru a fairly small hole).

Any help is appreciated!

[chrisr]

never seen this set up on a yacht before, but looks pretty simple

the plunger that the halyard is attached to should be spring loaded and can be pulled out of the locating hole in the track. the car will then slide up and release enough tension to slip the halyard eye off

you will need to attach a rope tail to the halyard so you can lower the sail (and then pull it back up later)

the attachment will need to be soft (ie not a shackle) so that it goes through the turning block at the top of the mast etc

suggest running a rope eye through halyard end

you'll need to be able to lead this to a winch when you hoist the sail again (to get luff tension)

good luck

cheers,

[Benz]

^^ It's called a "hoisting halyard," which just clips or ties on to the cable so it can be hung onto while the sail is down. There's probably a thin piece of rope roughly the length of your mast in the bottom of a locker somewhere, who's purpose you were wondering about before you buried it under scuba gear and fenders.

[ryanandtracy]

Thanks guys for confirming what I thought was the answer.

Chris, I cannot get that pin to budge at all I am guessing its been in there for quite some time.

Ben, do you have an image of what I am looking for? I have looked under the fenders and scuba gear. How thin of a line would I be shopping for?

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by ryanandtracy

Thanks guys for confirming what I thought was the answer.

Chris, I cannot get that pin to budge at all I am guessing its been in there for quite some time.

respectfully : even though it's likely been in there for years, i think it will have to come out. try WD40 + some light taps with a hammer

only questions is whether it's spring loaded or threaded...

cheers,

[JPA Cate]

You could be looking for 3-6 mm (up to 1/4") light line, in a tidy hank in a rope locker, or a cockpit coaming, or in a bag with other "string". It could also have gone back on a spool, or be secured with a rubber band, it depends on the size of the way "they" put it back when they were done with it.

Ann

[Benz]

Originally Posted by ryanandtracy

Thanks guys for confirming what I thought was the answer.

Chris, I cannot get that pin to budge at all I am guessing its been in there for quite some time.

Ben, do you have an image of what I am looking for? I have looked under the fenders and scuba gear. How thin of a line would I be shopping for?

Ann is right: on a boat your size it would look like a thinnish bit of line, and might have been cut up for some other use if not carefully labelled by the PO.
As for pin in the track: you might have to un-weight the car to loosen the pin. This is done by pulling down on the car really hard with a tackle, or a line led to a winch. You'll need this same setup when you go to tension it again.
This is how it was first set up, and it's a great system, but you have to have all the parts.

[SailingVeracity]

Does the tack of the sail have a downhaul lashing to tension the luff?
If so, loosen that off and this should give enough slack to release the halyard.