halyards

[Chelsea]

My 323 has rope/wire halyards.  The wire is showing some fraying where it attaches to the rope section. 

Has anyone replaced them with all rope halyards?  Do the sheaves on top of the mast support rope all the way through without having to be replaced?

I look forward to responses.
Thank you

[AnaMeg]

Chelsea, I replaced my halyards with all rope. The sheaves were designed for wire with the central grove. However I've heard others say they work fine with rope but the rope wears a bit faster. I replaced my sheaves with Delrin sheaves from Zephyrworks. http://www.zephyrwerks.com/.

I used 1/2" line. I would recommend smaller diameter if you do not have to worry about the hand factor. This line is stiff going through the sheaves and the main will not fall below half way no matter how much lubricant I use. This summer I intend to replace the halyards with 3/8" line. I have a cabin top self tailing winch so the "hand" factor is less important.

Geoff

[Frayed Knot]

I used 3/8" Sta Set.  Had no problems at all. 

[Dolce_Vita]

I'm in the process of converting mine from wire/rope to all-rope too. 

Based on comments here and elsewhere, plus the bad condition of my sheaves, I had new ones made by Zephyrwerks too. The machining was beautiful, and the cost quite reasonable (under $40 ea for quantity 4).  They fit perfectly, and spin quite easily.

I had them grooved for 3/8" line, based  on AnaMeg's comments and my measurements of the sheave box width.

Elsewhere, I've seen negative comments on Sta-Set X's stiffness, so I asked around my experienced cruising friends.  They all said to go with VPC.  Defender has it in 3/8" for $1.34/ft.  In my dry fit testing of the masthead assembly, the lines pulled freely with no noticeable drag.  Hopefully, I'll find out how it all works together when I get the mast finished and back on the boat in the next week or so.

[selene]

Ed, any photos for us/your site? Did you do the work with the mast up, or down?

I think many of us will be facing the same challenge very soon, so any info (e.g dimensions, instructions to Zephrworks) would be most useful...sorry to ask, but I have seen how thoroughly (and well!) you have documented things in the past - your equipment lists were an awesome resource when I bought Selene, and form the basis of documenting my boat equipment!

[Dolce_Vita]

Thanks for the kind words.  Glad my modest efforts were helpful.

Everythings being done with the mast down, as I did the "full monty":  2 1/2" of corrosion cut off the mast base, new mast step, new standing rigging, new halyards & sheaves, new black Awlgrip for the whole mast, new LED lights, new wind instrument.

I must admit that it has turned into a much more massive undertaking than I originally planned, and I've been a bit lax (but not completely) about taking detailed photos every step of the way.  I will eventually put it up on the website, but right now my effort is focused on getting this done before it impacts/kills our planned 2-week cruise that is supposed to start in just over 2 weeks!