Music, or nails on a chalkboard?
If you’re a boater, and even the least bit observant (is that the right term to use when you’re referring to hearing as opposed to seeing?), you have experienced this: halyards banging on a mast. To some, the sound is music to their ears, conjuring up memories of all things nautical. To others, it is like nails on a chalkboard. I’d put myself more in the latter camp.
I first wrote about this issue on July 27, 2009, less than a month after we took possession of our PDQ catamaran, then named Katana. At that time, we were on a dock whereas now, we’re anchored in the middle of a cluster of boats, the closest around us all empty, having been left to rest by their owners. Therein lies the root of the problem, there is no one on board those boats to take note of the incessant clanging of their halyards. We notice though! Perhaps a good measure of how close you are anchored (or docked) to another boat is how easily you can hear their halyards clanging on the mast?
Note: Sadly, I have to admit that there is at least one line banging on our mast right now. Not a halyard, specifically, but a control line for the whisker pole track. I need to go secure that to put a pause to the “music.”
I love the music! I especially love windy nights for the faster-paced music! I feel bad for you that it’s “nails on a chalkboard.”
I feel bad for your halyards. 😉
More than once have sailors boarded an empty sailboat to tie off noisy slack lines.
Yes, I know, but I wouldn’t do that though. I’d get on someone’s boat to stop it from sinking, or help if it was dragging (I have done this), but not for something so trivial as this.
I have in a marina, but never anchored. It’s different. For one thing, in a marina you may know that a certain owner visits his boat perhaps 4 times a year; the tune simply isn’t going to change. And he’s not going to learn, except perhaps by the gentle hint that someone else fixed for him. I had the humiliation of someone autonomously fixing mine… once. Never again.
I can imagine. 🙂
I lived on my boat in a marina for a few years and have gone aboard many unattended boats to secure loose halyards. I believe this to be akin to un-managed barking dogs in a residential community in that your neighbors right to make noise ends at the point where it is degrades the quality of life for others.
A decent analogy, but in the case of the dog, I wouldn’t go and muzzle it myself (or feed it biscuits), I’d call someone with some authority to do it. That’s me though.
I admit when I come down to the boat yard and hear halyards clanging it gets me smiling because it means the wind is up. It does sound nautical to me but I have never lived with it. However since reading your post on this ( and others similar thoughts) I now tighten or tie off our halyard to the side to keep ours silent.
Good job! Your neighbors’ ears thank you.
I agree that the slapping of halyards is annoying. So, like some of the others, I often go and fix them. I prefer to make it obvious to the owner, when he returns, that something has been done, so I wrap a line round them several times or something similar. This seems to make the point to the owner quite successfully!
Maybe I’m just selfish. But it gets approval from all the other occupied boats.
Mike
If you’re in the neighborhood, could you take a look at the Gemini cat behind us?
I’m with you, Mike. In fact, I would prefer fingernails on a blackboard over the metallic – CLANNGGG, CLANNGGG, CLANNGGG of the halyard!
Clanging halyards are just an example of either ill-informed/uncaring crew/owners, or people who are just rude! They will also have shorter halyard lives.
If a boat is unattended, I will absolutely go aboard and correct the problem. Just as I would board and fix an unfurling roller furling sail, or any other obvious problem.
I’m not sure I’d prefer the fingernail/chalkboard thing. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a blackboard though.
Our cottage is on piers over the water and we have a handful of nearby neighbors. All of us have flag poles, and I get the same clanging. I have a great relationship with the neighbors and never hesitate to go wrap their ‘halyard’ around the pole to stop it from clanging, if they aren’t around.
Any way to attach a picture to a comment? Just curious.
I don’t think there is, Steve.
I love the music! Brings back fond memories of my youth. I don’t live on the boat but it is parked close so I hear it 24/7/365. If someone came on my boat to tie them they would get more than an earful.
And so you deliberately let the halyards bang, even though you know that it’s annoying to many people, and detrimental to the life of the halyard? I don’t agree with that at all, but do agree with the boarding the boat part.
I don’t have neighbors that are close so that isn’t an issue, and my Yale Crystaline halyards are 7+ years old and have little wear, biggest problem is the sun where I live (SW FL). If you want to talk annoying, I can give way more examples more egregious than halyard noise. How about the smell, pollution and noise of a diesel? Or the mobos that constantly wake us. Depends on your point of view I guess, the “cruisers” who motor when the wind is fair really set me off.
Diesel spilled on the water, and being waked by inconsiderate boaters, are definitely on the “not cool” list. You can only control the things on your own boat though, and that includes not adding to noise pollution by letting your halyards bang, no matter how nautical you may feel the sound is. As you said, there’s no one around you so it’s not an issue. I hope that’s true.
As for the sailing vs motoring thing, that’s completely unrelated. Apples and Oranges. Maybe they have a schedule to adhere to, and any number of other reasons for choosing to travel as they do. Why would you care? That doesn’t affect you.
Halyards slapping, dogs barking, most wind turbines, loud music, generators all create noise issues. If you want to call it “pollution” ok, I would call it more of an annoyance. I agree you can only control what is on your boat and you should try to be considerate to others.
As for the sailing vs motoring thing…. ok I will bite. Somewhat unrelated but more serious than a noise annoyance. Diesel boat engines are one of the dirtiest forms of power on the planet. All you need to do is unfurl the jib to get wind assistance to go faster and save fuel, right? Once there are a few thousand hours on the motor raw fuel leaks past the valves and rings directly into the water. That is pollution (CO, CO2, Sulphur, Acid etc) that poisons our air and water.
Guess I am tilting at windmills.
Believe me, there are many days when I wish I had no diesel engine to deal with. On the other hand, as I passed through the wind void created by St. Lucia’s Piton mountains yesterday, I was very glad that I did have one.