Halyard hooks
One common source of frustration, familiar to most cruising sailors, are running rigging rattling against against the outside of the mast all night, seemingly impossible to be made silent regardless what tricks you try in order to get some sleep. (If the rattling is from inside the mast extrusion only, then the problem is probably best remedied by a standard spiral-type insert supplied by spar manufacturers.)
When, as in our case, the halyards are of the classic part steel wire variety, the metallic noice as the wind whips the cables is particularly annoying.
The spreader struts on our boat are of a flattish type (with a semi-aerodynamic section) so I found the easiest way to proceed was to first screw the hooks to lengths of narrow U-shaped aluminium channel ( (15x15mm, another workshop find), which in turn could be attached grasping the spreader extrusions rather thin trailing edge.
Now, before starting to drill holes in the spreaders, it is prudent to first consider possible structural consequences of any modifications to these or indeed any load bearing part of the rigging: The spreader members obviously take very high compressive loads, so it is extra important not to compromise their strength by introducing even minute drilled holes in any unsuitable areas. This means no drilling near an edge, unless the holes are well situated towards the extremes, e.g. near the member's tip or root. The way the U-channel was fastened satisfied this rule.
Since the hooks were a little to tight for the rigging wire to fit easily, it was found necessary to cut off the "lips" as illustrated. Now a halyard can be "hung-up" or released with a well-directed flick, but will stay parked and silent, clear of the mast when tightened down.
One possible problem, though: If there are burgees or other small flags hoisted on a line fastened to a point on the spreader which is near the hooks, there is a risk of them fluttering against the halyard and possibly get entangled.
Fallkrokar
Det finns få saker som är så irriterande som att bli väckt av fall som slamrar mot masten i gryningen, särskilt när båten har vajer-fall.
Vår enkla lösning har fungerat utmärkt i flera säsonger. Den består av nylonkrokar, fabrikat Holt-Allen, vilka egentligen är avsedda för t ex spinnakergajar på segeljollar. Dessa krokar är nu istället placerade på spridarnas bakkant (ett par på varje sida).
För att inte riskera att försvaga de spolformade spridarprofilerna genom att borra hål nära den tunna bakkanten, monterades krokarna först på några tunna U-profiler av aluminium, vilka i sin tur kunde klämmas över bakkanten och fästas på hållfastare sätt.
Just denna kroktyp visade sig för trång i öppningen för falldimensionen och behövde därför modifierfas lite enligt illustration. På det sättet är det nu lätt att vid behov kroka i och spänna ut fallet från masten, liksom att med ett knyck lossa fallet igen.
Ett problem som kan tänkas uppstå är om man har t ex klubbstandertar hissade under spridarna i närheten av krokarna. Det finns då risk för att flaggorna nöter mot det utspända fallet och eventuellt trasslar in sig.
This, then, is a suggestion for a simple solution which has served us well: Low profile plastic hooks are attached to the trailing edge of the spreaders, either side. I used some Holt Allen nylon "lacing hooks" (part number HA248, but HA135's would prabably be even better and need no modifications) which I happened to have in the spares box.
