by Roger » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:37 pm
Having rope only on the DS, then moving up to rope/wire on my current boat, I would definately recommend wire. The luff of the sail stays straighter, and does not creep as the day wears on.
If your sheeves can handle the wire, I would recommend that you not splice, but cleat on a wire loop and thimble on the aft part of the masthead sheeves for the jib halyard, and the same on the forward part of the masthead sheeves for the main halyard. You can then simply run a halyard through the loop, and splice it. It is easier to replace the rope halyard down the road as it will not likely last as long as the wire. The thimble is irrelevent as it does not have to run through the sheeves. My rope portion of the halyards are knotted, so I can turn them end for end each season. You could also create an eye splice, and loop the standing part through the thimble, eliminating the need for a knot altogether.