Halyard Jig

[John Stone]

Hello All,
I was reading the other night in the May/June 2009 issue of Wooden Boat about Frank Blair's 62' "fusion" schooner, Maggie B. Apparently he installed "halyard jigs" to gain purchase on halyards which eliminated the need for dedicated winches. I am in the process of rebuilding my mast and I am curious if this would be practical on my 36' cutter. I am always interested in making things simpler. I have looked for information on halyard jigs in my small library of sailing books and run a check on the internet but have come up with a blank. I believe it to be some kind of block and tackle system that attaches to the deck(?) and to the halyard in some fashion. Is anyone familiar with this system and how it would work in practical terms? Does anyone have any pictures of how it would be assembled. .


Many thanks.
John

[Ian McColgin]

The units I've seen called halyard jigs, on old Narrasketucks and even older ice boats, are a little different from how I think the article reads, but I'm not sure the article really got it.

For a three-power jig, the halyard terminated spliced to the top becket of a block with two beckets. The length of this part of the halyard is such that with the sail all the way down the halyard end is still below the sheeve and with the sail up the end is at a convenient height above the deck. A line is spliced to the lower becket and run back up through the block.

You pull that line to get the sail up, the block down. When the block is within reach you hold it with one hand and pull out the loop of line that goes from the lower becket up over the sheeve. This loop is then plopped over a turning block on the mast. Go back to pulling on the line which now has a 3:1 advantage. Slick, light, easy.

G'luck

[benz]

Hi John,

On my last boat, lacking halyard winches, I used a little block and tackle with a carabiner on the lower end that could attach to a convenient padeye or bail at deck level, and a rockclimber's ascender at the top end. The ascender (check out the Petzl brand) attaches to the halyard in a second, the tackle is heaved on, and the halyard made fast. You can even use a ratchet block on the tackle to hold the strain while you make the halyard fast. There are many sorts of ascender on the market, but the best for this is the sort that comes on and off really quick. If you get two of them, you can use them to climb the mast as well.
Ben

[Ian McColgin]

I've used rigs like Benz mentions but, fond as I am of jummers for climbing, I'd not leave it under strain for the world. If you have a cleat on the mast and maybe a ring on the deck, you can bring the sail up nearly tight, take a quick turn on the cleat, attach your block and tackle by selvagee or by nipper to the halyard and hook the bottom to the ring, tighten up, rebelay to the cleat, and then take all the tackle away.

I like the nipper better for this than selvagee because it can easily be clapped on one handed and is faster to fasten and fleet off than a selvagee. It does mean that you employ one hand to hold the nipper ends and the other to haul on the tackle but that always works fine.

Marmalade has no anchor windlass and there have been times like after Irene when my anchor was so deeply buried that even driving about with the rode about up and down wasn't leading to a breakout. But I could nip a powerful comealong to the anchor and work it out.

G'luck

[benz]

Ian is right--you never leave the tackle holding the strain. It's just there for a quick tensioning, and once you've belayed the halyard it comes off. But that's the beauty of jumars: they come on and off very easily, but are very secure while they're on.

[John Stone]

Thanks Ian and Benz. Good info. I think I understand the concept but not sure what this thing really looks like. I understand you hand over hand the halyard as far as you can then attach the block and tackle to the deck, near the mast, and then secure the other end on the halyard at the top of your reach. With the multiplying power of the block and tackle you tighten the halyard the last bit. I am familiar with ascenders, but I am not familiar with nippers or selvagee. Can't seem to find any pictures of them (are these things or concepts?). Can anyone elaborate and maybe throw in a picture or two of what this would look like set up in a traditional manner?

As always, thanks for the excellent info on this forum.

[benz]

I usually make the halyard fast real quick, THEN attach the ascender. That way I have two hands to make sure the tackle doesn't tangle or that I can free up a hand to keep myself from going into the briny. I thought a selvagee was just a loop of rope with which you could clap a quick prusik knot on the halyard, but I'm often mistaken.

[Ian McColgin]

Salvagees (well illustrated, if I remember correcctly, in one of Brion's books) and the more fleeting use of a nip to attache a messenger or pulling line to another line are, like the timber hitch of horse logging days, underutilized. I don't know where there are any good illustrations of the various ways of nipping on a line, but I rather hope Brion or someone will provide them here for the benefit of all. Temporary as they are, the variations on binding give one a basis for some very creative moments in cordage.