New Halyard

[Ian McColgin]

As Brion points out, it's important to lay out internal halyards - really all halyards but with external you see it and won't make this mistake - such that they lead fairly to their exit and don't cross or bear on each other.

But I want to make a small disagreement with whether it matters what side halyards and other lines are on. More generalized than "jibs to port, main to starboard" is that control lines for sails ahead of the mast go to port and those for sails behind the mast go starboard. The reason is that most people are right-handed. Positioning such that the stronger side is toward the work load when you're glancing up at the sail just makes life easier.

This practicality of course does not mean much where the lines are led through blocks and organizers back to the cockpit. For that, it's merely conventional. But if the work takes place at the mast, the convention is most practical for most (right-handed) people.