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U20 General Discussion / Main and spin halyard stuck inside of rig right aftet stepping mast
« Last post by John Andrew2 on March 14, 2025, 10:07:15 PM »Had an unusual issue pop up last weekend at the Big Daddy regatta in Richmond CA.
We stepped the rig, launched the boat and proceeded to hoist sails only to find that both the main and spinnaker halyards were completely stuck inside the mast. No amount of pulling would break them loose. We loosened the rig to the point of it being completely sloppy and shook the mask pretty well to see if perhaps a shroud terminal fitting had pinched both of the halyards somehow. (seemed like a long shot for both to get caught)
After lots of shaking the rig and even pulling up the keel and tipping the boat on its side at the dock we still couldn't move either of the halyards. Next we decided to drop the rig at the dock and inspect to see what was going on. Upon getting the rig down horizontal (just like on the trailer but at the dock) we were able to move both the halyards freely.
We stood the rig up again thinking we were good but much to our surprise, both halyards were again stuck somewhere inside the mast - although the main halyard did move about 5 feet under lots of pressure before it got completely stuck again.
We dropped the rig again and stood it up again (not easy in the water even with two people lifting it on deck) and we were finally successful in moving the halyards with no issues...
In all the years and through 2 U20s, we've never had this happen. The spreader bar stays in all the time and the halyards haven't been re-run in 18 months.
Any ideas on what might be happening?
Also, should the halyards be in front of the spreader bar or aft of the spreader bar?
Thanks,
We stepped the rig, launched the boat and proceeded to hoist sails only to find that both the main and spinnaker halyards were completely stuck inside the mast. No amount of pulling would break them loose. We loosened the rig to the point of it being completely sloppy and shook the mask pretty well to see if perhaps a shroud terminal fitting had pinched both of the halyards somehow. (seemed like a long shot for both to get caught)
After lots of shaking the rig and even pulling up the keel and tipping the boat on its side at the dock we still couldn't move either of the halyards. Next we decided to drop the rig at the dock and inspect to see what was going on. Upon getting the rig down horizontal (just like on the trailer but at the dock) we were able to move both the halyards freely.
We stood the rig up again thinking we were good but much to our surprise, both halyards were again stuck somewhere inside the mast - although the main halyard did move about 5 feet under lots of pressure before it got completely stuck again.
We dropped the rig again and stood it up again (not easy in the water even with two people lifting it on deck) and we were finally successful in moving the halyards with no issues...
In all the years and through 2 U20s, we've never had this happen. The spreader bar stays in all the time and the halyards haven't been re-run in 18 months.
Any ideas on what might be happening?
Also, should the halyards be in front of the spreader bar or aft of the spreader bar?
Thanks,