DaySailer.org Forum

I have swapped out my very old rope to wire halyards for all rope ones. My old jib halyard tension system is a four-to-one block set-up with a wire leading from it that hooked to an eye at the beginning of the wire section of my old halyard. My new all rope jib halyard has no such eye, of course. Any suggestions for how I can modify this set-up for the rope halyard so I can still use the halyard tensioning system? If you have pictures, that would be great.

You could always splice an eye into your rope halyard.

You could make a continues loop of dyneema, aobut 9" diameter and tie it like a Prusik not so it grips the halyard.

Here's an image from Wikipedia:


To increase holding power, you could give it an extra turn. Assuming you can get a firm enough grip with in you your halyard, you would hook your tensioner into the loop (the bit that extends below in the photo).

You could add a clam cleat mounted on a piece of wood and connected to the shackle on your upper fiddle block. Then instead of connecting a shackle to a loop on the halyard you would put the halyard into the clam cleat and tension the halyard. I believe there was an article about making this versatile type of purchase in Small Craft Advisor within the last year.