Do I need a Dyneema halyard?
Do I need a Dyneema halyard for the mainsail is a question we often receive. A question that is both relevant and needs an evolving answer. Dyneema halyards for sailboats are relatively new and have become popular as people replace their halyards with spliced wire. If you’re an experienced sailor with big sails and a big wallet, the answer is probably yes. You want and need a Dyneema halyard.
But do you really need it? Probably not.
These halyard ropes are super stiff and easy to handle. Thanks to the ease of splicing the core, it has therefore become a product that is practical, but comes at a high price. These halyards are considerably more expensive to buy than an equivalent polyester halyard. In terms of stretch, polyester halyards are slightly more stretchy, but for the recreational sailor this is hardly noticeable. In other words, you will still be able to sail safely and comfortably, even if you don’t have a Dyneema halyard.
We usually say that it’s some tough guy on Marstrand who said you must have Dyneema. Preferably in both halyard and sheet. The rumor that many people talk about is that bluntness would be absolutely crucial for whether a line is good or bad. The truth is that the casing is almost always in polyester, and it stretches. Not much but you will notice after using it for a while that the casing will be longer than the halyard. No big deal really, but it’s actually something that you don’t have to do with polyester halyards.
If you value an extremely low elongation, the possibility to splice yourself and a slightly lower weight, then a duneema halyard could definitely be for you. But if you are a leisure sailor and would rather buy a nice dinner at the local pub than a rope, then the Proline polyester halyard is an excellent product for you.
