Adding internal halyard

[talbot]

Anyone installed a new internal halyard in a P18/21/23 mast? I know how to install a sheave to get the line into the mast at the top. How do I get it out to its cleat? Could it emerge alongside the jib or main halyards through the existing slots in the mast?

If it needs a new slot, I would just keep the whole thing outside. I'm already contemplating a new hole in the mast for an antenna lead.

[Sailor Sue]

Since no one else has offered an opinion......
1. What would the new halyard be used for?
2. Based on the size of the halyard slots on our P-23 mast I think trying to exit a second halyard
   would likely cause jams and the potential for stuck halyards.
3. Since our halyard exit slots are centered front to back in the mast I am not sure where a second
   exit slot should be located to weaken the mast as little as possible. My thought would be to add
   a second slot at least a foot below your existing exit, and probably aft of the original,
   certainly not in line.
4. Possibly a bigger concern is the upper mast sheave which might require a larger hole. If for a
   spinnaker it should be above the forestay, so probably less of an issue. If for a second head
   sail it should go below the forestay, so removing more material close to structural point of the
   mast.

5. When I added a spinnaker halyard I routed a slot (so smooth round edges with no sharp corners)
   and installed the same stainless steel fitting that Precision used to attach the standing
   rigging. Then I attached a swivel block to a T-fitting with a loop on the end which is inserted
   into the mast fitting. It's an external halyard which can be removed for trailering.

[talbot]

Thanks. It would be for a spinnaker, probably mounted about 8" above the forestay. The line would probably be 3/16 Dyneema with a poly cover (1/4" total).

You voiced my concerns about the exit perfectly.

Elsewhere, some sailors have recommended a mast hound (not a riveted tang), and that's what I'm inclined towards at this point, with the whole system outside the spar. But I'm still wide open to suggestions.