Reeving halyards
 

Hi
My mast is on trestles beside the boat and I need to reeve some halyards (the mousing lines got lost during the paint job). Can someone please tell me how to do this without getting them crossed. Really appreciate it, thanks, David

Possible
 

Hello there,
It is easy to get one halyard in without trouble, relatively easy to get two, and things get exponentially worse after that. If it is possible to remove the masthead you have the best chance, as you can thread a messenger in (we push them in with a length of standing rigging wire), then secure the messenger under tension, so it stays out of the way. Then you rotate the mast so the next messenger can lie on the bottom, and repeat. With the masthead off you can shine a bright flashlight in, to make sure you aren't snagging lines. Run the messengers right out the ends of the mast, and then fish them out of their halyard exits.
If you can't get the masthead off, or if things are otherwise problematic, try to get at least a couple in, so you can go aloft after the mast is stepped, and use fishing weights or the like to lower messengers in from aloft.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

Thanks Brion,
I had 2 in and was looking for the 'magic'solution to getting the others in. I can keep dreaming ! FYI when the mast is stepped I use a bicycle chain as a weight; it goes over the sheave easily and can be long/heavy. David