Submitted on March 27, 2007 by Arthur Hoag

Question: I've been noticing a fair bit of chafe on my spinnaker halyard. I've been thinking it is from flying my north Gennaker (which I love, by the way), in fairly rolly conditions. The sheaves at the mast head, and the area around them, are pretty fair.

Do you have any suggestions for managing Chafe in this area?

I'm mostly doing coastal sailing, so it is not a huge issue now, but I plan on doing some longer passages this summer, and would like to preemptively deal with the issue.

Thanks,
Arthur Hoag

Answer: Hi Mr.. Hoag,

If your spinnaker halyard is more than three years old, it may just be normal wear and tear that you are seeing. If it is new then the next time that you hoist your gennaker, make sure that your halyard is all the way to the top and then mark the halyard with a sharpie behind the halyard stopper so that you will always know that it is at the top of the mast. If you find that the halyard has been set low, then it may be floating around and chafing on the sides of the sheave box. No matter how smooth the exits may be, sooner or later it will start to chafe. You may need to use binoculars to get a good look at the halyard at the top of the mast.

Regards,
Tom Castilgione

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