Things You Need to Know About Sailboat Halyard Rope

There is a wide variety of boat ropes to choose from. Which one is right for you depends on many factors such as cost, stretch, weight, and ease of handling.

Halyard rope is an important part of any rigging system and should be made from a strong, low-stretch material. A good option for most cruising boats is a low-stretch polyester braid line with a Vectran core, such as New England Ropes VPC.

Material

Halyards are used to control sails by pulling them up and bringing them down. They are usually worked at the mast base, but increasingly the line is led aft to a rope clutch fitted on the coaming for working in the cockpit.

A good halyard should be stretch-resistant, with a strong breaking point. It should also be abrasion-resistant since it frequently rubs against rollers, blocks, winches and cleats and will need to resist chafing.

For cruising, polyester (Dacron) is typically the material of choice, as it’s cost-efficient, lightweight and resistant to UV radiation. It’s also abrasion-resistant and won’t harden or degrade when wet.

For high-stretch applications such as spinnaker halyards and sheets, a blended double-braid Beltran(r) or Spectra(r) rope is often recommended. It’s abrasion-resistant, and offers great grip around clutches and winches, reducing abrasion to practically zero.

Diameter

Diameter is a critical factor when choosing the right rope for a sailboat halyard. It will affect how much stretch the rope will have, which can increase or decrease your sailing performance.

In general, super low-stretch Vectran and polyester double braid are ideal for racing yachts while budget cruisers may prefer wire rope. For more demanding cruisers, ropes with SK38 or Stirotex fibers are good choices.

Ropes are available in various diameters from 4 mm to 12 mm. West Coast Sailing stocks a full range of favorites such as Marlow Doublebraid, Robline Admiral 5000, Dinghy Control Line and Sirus 500 in all major sailing rope diameters.

For mooring cleats, sheet and halyard cleats and masthead sheaves a half-inch rope is generally adequate. For sheet blocks and masthead sheaves on a Vega, three-eighths of an inch is recommended.

Length

A sailboat halyard rope is an essential part of your rigging system and it’s important to choose the right length for your boat. Too short of a rope won’t get you anywhere and it will add weight to your boat, making it more difficult to steer.

The halyard is generally led aft via the mast base block, to a turning point (sheave) above the desired hoist height of your main or jib sail. It is then led back to the cockpit, ready for attachment to the sail.

When choosing the halyard line for your sailboat you need to take into account a number of factors including stretch, strength and rigging. A low stretch line will help your halyards to stay flat while sailing and this will improve the performance of your sails.

There are a wide variety of halyard fibers available to choose from, including nylon, polyester, HMPE, LCP, stirotex and many more. The type of halyard fiber used depends on your sailing goals and your budget.

Weight

A halyard is an important part of a sailboat’s rigging. It pulls the luff of the sail against the head to keep it under tension. The weight of the luff, the static tension on the line and any load that is applied to the halyard by the winch or Cunningham are all loads that must be taken into account when estimating the size of the halyard rope needed.

In general, a mainsail halyard should be sized to take at least 400 pounds without breaking. A spinnaker halyard and boom should each be able to handle at least 250 pounds without breaking, as well.

For cruising, we recommend polyester ropes or high-tech double braids with SK38 Dyneema fibers for the mainsail halyard and SK78 Dyneema cores for the spinnaker. Ropes with low elongation are recommended for the mainsail halyard to allow proper trimming and to reduce stress on the sail as the wind changes.