I gather from previous comments that with 1/2" you may get jamming problems at the sheaves. Our boat has 8 plait for halyards, it is smaller than 1/2", I think it might even be 3/8" it seems quite a bit smaller than 1/2".

The 8 plait is very soft and I think it creates more friction at the sheaves than traditional dacron/polyester double braid does. I don't think I would use it again if I had to replace anything.

Bud,
I think Steve is talking about sheets, not halyards. I agree completely with you about the folly of going larger than 3/8" for a halyard. You will definitely increase the friction, as the sheaves are designed for 3/8" and not larger.

Steve,
I don't think it matters much, but I personally went up to 1/2" because of the better feel and handling. The 1/2" fits in the self-tailer without a problem and works very well. You might also want to consider getting one 110' jib sheet, instead of two 55' sheets. Loop it thru itself at the clew, and it will hang up a lot less on the shrouds than a pair of bowlines will. A rigger at a boatshow suggested this to me a few years ago, and now I wouldn't do it any other way. Besides, he said, if you don't like it, you can always cut the line in half and have two 55' sheets. Hope this helps.

Doh! Proof positive one should never post on a forum while one is still half asleep. Or one should actually read the post a couple of times first! I actually want to increase our sheet size to 1/2" as well so I have no excuse for mis-reading that. We also have 150 gen and there's a lot of load on those 3/8" lines, I find my pinky finger takes a beating even with gloves on. Good to hear it can be done.

Tom, what kind of knot did you use with the single sheet? I did that with our other boat. I made a loop and shoved the ends through, it worked very well, it never hung up when tacking. But it seized so tight I couldn't get it undone, had to cut it! It did really work well, much more reliable than the setup we have now which uses a hook that is supposedly not able to open under load but which did causing us to lose the sheet in 30 knots of wind. Not fun. I wire it and tape it shut now but it's ugly and I think dangerous. I suppose one could just leave the sheets on the sail when it's layup time though I was wanting to check the knot for chafe and couldn't do so.

Bstreet: We use the same setup on our 89. I just loop the midpoint through the clew, feed the ends through the loop and add a half hitch. The hitch provides a smooth transition across the stays when tacking and I don't remember that it was to difficult to remove when hauling this year.

Harold,
I've been trying to imagine in my mind the half hitch you describe, and I can't. A half hitch around the loop?

Bud,
If you pass one end of the sheet thru the loop twice, it won't tighten as much. Make a loop in the middle of the sheet, pass it thru the cringle. Pass both ends of the sheet thru the loop. Pass one end of the sheet again thru the cringle, and again thru the loop. You effectively have three turns thru the cringle instead of two. It's still tight at the end of the season, and I need a pair of pliers to get it out, but I can get it out. Hope this helps.

I belive he means one length of line. at the center point he passes the eye thru the clew, and then passes the bitter ends thru the eye and pulls the bitter ends back to the cars. I have seen alot of guys do it that way, instead of tying a boline for port and starboard section of line.