I'm unable to get my main halyard ring to hook on my Viper. I've never had any trouble with it until now. I recently got a brand new set of sails, this is when the trouble started. I've made the knot as small as possible and am doing it the way AHPC suggests with the halyard line between the ring and the luff track. Any suggestions?

Try tying the know the other direction. Left over right, or whatever is the opposite of the way its tied now. Plus you can tie it from the top of the ring or the middle. Mess with it until you find a combination that works.

Some main/mast combos are a mofo. The mast on my last boat, the only way I could get it to consistently hook and unhook was I made a tapered main halyard and luggage tag the ring onto the halyard. Seemed to work well enough.

Also, check to see if the bolt rope is actually striking the hook.

It's unhooks no problem. I'll try tying to the top of the ring and different direction

You may just be trading problems. Don't ask how I know...

Suggestion: Put the boat on the side and see what is happening when you try to hook the ring.

The grommet in the head might be placed a tiny bit too far aft for your setup.

I had similar issues several weeks ago. Eventually seemed to get it to hook, but not the right way, instead somehow twisting the halyard around the hook and the ring after hoisting the sail. Ended up having to take the mast down with the sail, and then cleverly bent the mast step when the mainsail decided it had more force than I did, and twisted the mast as it went horizontal.

Hey pbl there are a few of us on F16's that race in your area, you should come check us out sometime

Absolutely! Been out of the water for a few weeks, nursing a busted up foot from a couple of weeks ago. Still trying to figure out the boat, and we're looking for some feedback from other folks out on the water. No point in learning the hard way...

Another thing to do is switch what side the halyard is on the hook. Shouldn't really matter for getting it to lock, but will matter as to which way you rotate the mast when trying to get the ring off again.


Just a matter of messing with it until you get the right combination of things going. Work methodically in some form or another to save time when you're testing different ways.