With fractional rigs we are way more interested in how much pumping the adjuster down has shortened the backstay and bent the mast than we are the reading on the pressure gauge (within reason). That’s why the marked batten.

Click on images to enlarge

You see people taping messenger lines to halyards, but that can lead to tears when the messenger comes off inside the mast.

So way better to put a flemish eye, sometimes known as a reaving eye, in the bitter end of all halyards and internal reefing lines.

The key to success is that the eye should have no bigger diameter than the rope, so a normal splice does not work.

Or, if you suck at rope work as much as I do, get a good rigger to do it for you.

When shortening a line, it’s way easier if we put on two sailmakers whippings and then cut the line between them. Whipping how-to. (Scroll down to #6)

or at least extended by installing spectra chafe sleeve. Love the stuff. More here.

Not a permanent fix. That will take unstepping and some very tricky work.

After just three day sails our main halyard is mangled. Turns out @sparcraft jammed the wiring conduit right up under the sheave on our brand new mast so it deflects the halyard and chafes it. Looked like end of season. We were gutted. No way to fix without unstep, but see next tip.

Great to see that the incredible legacy of Brian Toss lives on after his tragic death in 2020. See the web site: