Halyard Failure

[Dan Lehman]

Originally Posted by billknny

Used a lot (4+ days per week) and usually in our heavy winds (15-25 knots).

The line in question is the main halyard, and I believe it was Yale's Vizzion of uncertain age, but more than 2 years.

The halyard parted while hoisting the mainsail. Investigation found that it broke at the point where it is usually clamped in the rope clutch. There was no sign of external chafe or any damage to the cover at all, but... the line's core was totally crushed, and brittle with no tensile strength at all.

Did you examine the rope at some point(s) AWAY from the break?
--perhaps at any other point that might be thought to have some
higher-than-usual stresses?

Brion's question hits to the point of whether the line was overloaded,
and that should be something you guys can well figure per specs of
the boat. My take is that were we talking rockclimbing line here, the
frequency of usage would dictate retirement within a year, from use
in *leading* --moved to top-roping, where forces are much less--;
I'm unaware of what any like usage considerations obtain for yachting
uses. I do recall that in some flexing testing done by a climber for
the modern H-M materials (Kevlar, HMPE, Vectran) that were being
brought into climbing cord (typically 5-6mm accessory cord) the
Vectran cord proved not-so-good in strength in esp. with flexing.


Btw, in hoisting the main sail, wouldn't one expect the sheath alone
(polyester, in Vizzion) to be strong enough?!


--dl*
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