Hi all, In case anyone has any additional info on this... My M17 (1974) came with red and green halyards. However the red was on the starboard side sheaves and the green was on the port side sheaves. So yesterday I swapped them around - it wouldn't matter if they weren't colored line of course, but I found it confusing that they were opposite sides from the normal navigation colors. The real question - or comment maybe - is this: On this M17, the masthead sheaves are angled slightly from true fore-aft. One pair of sheaves lines up on the aft side with the mainsail slot - for the main halyard, obviously - and is slightly to port on the fore side of the mast. The other pair of sheaves - obviously for the jib halyard - lines up with the center of the fore of the mast, and is slightly to starboard of the sail slot on the aft side of the mast. Now I've got the green halyard coming down the starboard side - on the sheaves aligned at masthead for jib - and the red halyard coming down the port side - on the sheaves aligned at masthead for main. The handful of other sloops I've learned to rig and sail (none were masthead rigs, I realize now) all had the main halyard starboard, jib halyard to port. Some net searching indicates there's no 'standard' but that main to starboard predominates and there may be reasons why racers prefer that. OK, no problem there. The other issue that comes to mind is that when hove to, on starboard tack (for right of way reasons), the main halyard is on the lee side, somewhat less convenient to get at for putting in a reef. But it seems there's nothing to be done - the masthead is the way it is. I'd either have to cross the halyards, or, have them off-center for their respective sail heads. So, questions: Is this the normal masthead setup for an early vintage M17? Am I missing some simple obvious forehead-smacking detail that would make this different? Anyone find main halyard to starboard vs. port more practical for situations like reefing hove to on starboard tack, or other considerations I've not noticed? cheers, John S. -- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com