Can anyone share their mizzen/main sheet/halyard specs? (lengh/thickness)

[nickthemagicman]

I bought a 365 unrigged and am fixing it up now and was wondering if anyone had the specs for these?

[Dale Tanski]

nickthemagicman,
What exactly do you mean by "unrigged"? And by "these" do you mean 365's?
Dale

[Skookster]

The owner's manual is posted in a few places in this forum, and it has the lengths and specs. My own boat Skookum's original halyards were combo wire and rope, but I went with straight rope when replacing them.

[stephandjaysail365]

My own boat Skookum's original halyards were combo wire and rope, but I went with straight rope when replacing them.

Skookster, what rope did you replace your halyards with?

I imagine you may have had to replace the sheaves to allow for the right size rope vs wire-to-rope, too?

We're in the process of switching from wire-to-rope to all rope halyards as well. We did a little research on specs of rope for halyard use. Most sources say a minimum of 10mm Halyard is required for the Main, 8mm if Dyneema. 12mm for genoa (10mm if dyneema.) Is this right? This diameter could cause issues with upgrade to only rope halyard lines. The sheaves in the masthead are sized and shaped to wire-to-rope and essentially it's all too narrow to fit rope, and it's almost too narrow for the dyneema, too. Did I do this research correctly? Did you run into this compatibility issue as well? Curious to know how you navigated it.

Thanks in advance!

[Popeye.Tom]

I don't have measurements off my boat, though should have them soon when I get back out there...  This is somewhere on my work list.

From the Parts Catalog, 10-1-1977:
HALYARD, MAIN, 3/16 ss wire 42', 7/16 yacht braid 44' 1/4 swage (scan unclear on size, zooming PDF, I'm guessing 1/4)  (wait for it... list price, 1977  $115.44)

HALYARD, MIZZEN, 1/8 ss wire 32', 3/8 yacht braid 30', halyard shackle  (list price, 1977 $73.14)

My $0.02:  If I were looking to switch to Dyneema or STS rope, look carefully at the strengths. For standing rigging I know that Coleego has tables for wire/dyneema equivalence based on stretch.  This is what really leads to the dyneema being 3 or 4 x the strength of the original ss wire for standing rigging.  For halyards, I don't think you would need to use the same stretch criteria.

I would look at size fits your sheaves, what size feels good to handle and what size matches equivalent working load/factor of safety.  And for halyards, I wouldn't feel the safety factor is the same as for standing rigging. (Which ends up oversized on ultimate strength for a large safety factor when sized by stretch.)

Lengths adjusted as needed if you're going to route to the cockpit, which is my goal.

Cheers,
Tom

[Dale Tanski]

The typical rope of yesteryear and what is available today are very different.  Yacht braid back in the 70's had no where near the wear and load carrying capacity of todays line. 7/16" and even 1/2" was a common call out for a main halyard back then on a typical 35 footer.  With todays basic polyester core, polyester jacket line, 3/8" line will surpass the strength and stretch of the typical old 7/16" and 1/2" line, but one should not just compare line by its diameter.  When selecting any line there are many comparisons that must be made such as intended use, stretch requirements, equipment involved and expected life. 
In this case we are just looking at the halyard question.  Low stretch on a halyard is a relatively important requirement.  For the average cruiser Polyester/Polyester is more than capable of providing adequate limits on stretch if the correct diameter is selected. Diameter is dependent upon the existing equipment your boat has.  Sheave diameters, block capacity, rope clutch grip limits, gripper ring limits on self tailing winches and so on.  Then there is the creature comfort characteristics such is how it feels in the hand.  Lines of old were softer and fuzzy, they had a much better hand feel.  Todays lines are designed for winch drum grip and rope clutch grab and are much harsher on the hands, that's why sailing gloves are much more common today. 
The load on your main halyard is typically higher than your jib especially on newer boats.  The era of jib hanks is over as roller furling is the norm.  Halyard load on a furler is lower than on hanks.  For the most part the jib luff tape locks the jib luff in place when loaded not so with hanks so the halyard see less load. 
Unless you are on a race boat, Dynema has few practical uses on a cruising boat. Dynema on its own is very susceptible to sunburn and abrasion, that is why Dynema is most often used for the core material and jacketed with polyester. The polyester jacket resists both the UV degradation and abrasion.  Then there is the cost of Dynema line.  Even with a polyester jacket a Dynema cored length of line costs approximately three times the cost of Polyester/polyester line diameter for diameter.  Then there is the availability issue.  As of late Dynema has begun to disappear.  One of our customers just sold the company that manufactures the Dynema fibers.  He cashed out as the demand has never been higher because the vast majority of fiber is being diverted for the manufacture of ceramic body armor worldwide.  They used to use Kevlar  (this is why it disappeared) but now they have figured out how to get it to stick to ceramics.  The demand for Dynema has gone through the roof and so has the price. 
Then there is the way the line is knitted.  Don't buy Home Depot cordage, yes it could be polyester/polyester,  yes it probably looks pretty and yes it will be cheaper but it will not last, auto knot and hockle without warning.  Sampson, New England, Marlow, G&B are all good choices that will last and serve you for years, others typically found on EBay and the Jungle company will not.  Typically poor quality lines are not splicable as well no matter how good the rigger or you are at doing it. 
In short, a good quality 3/8" diameter (10 mm) polyester/polyester for your main halyard and jib halyard will work just fine.  Spend the money to get an eye splice on the shackle as any knot reduces the lines strength as much as 50%.  For your Mizzen 1/4" will more than handle the load but most will opt for 5/16" (8 mm) due to the hand thing.

Hope this all helps, if not send up a flare and I will try to answer your specific questions.
Dale

[Skookster]

+1 on Dale's advice. I figured the sheave profile wasnt going to be a problem with today's better cordage and went with 7/16 low-stretch yacht braid for main and jib halyards, and 3/8 for mizzen. So they're probably more than adequate. They dont show any wear yet, 2 to 8+ years.