Posted By: Wouter
Anybody else noticed this new trick ? - 04/06/06 12:12 AM
Go to http:/
And see.
This is Mavis Harnden and her boat has the cleat on the mainbeam. But she just graps that part of the halyard that goes up along the mast and pulls on that as if the cleat is on the mast itself. A first I didn't understand it then I did. If the halyard had been in the clear before you started pulling then it will remain in the cleat when pulling on the vertical halyard. Then because the spi is pulled out of the sock, the retrieval line will come taught and start pulling the halyard through the cleat while keeping it engaged. In effect you can hoist the spi in this way without worrying about the cleat. You may just at the end grap the halyard in the old fashioned way to pull the last bit out (the part to the end of the pole. But that will not be too hard.
This sounds like a great way to have it both ways. I will try this myself this season and see how it works.
Wouter