My main halyard comes up from a turning block at the base of the mast on the port side to a horn cleat a couple of feet up from the deck. This works fine. My jib halyard, also on the port side, comes back to a winch and horn cleat at the back end of the deck. I switched to horn cleats to clean up the deck, avoid wear from rope clutches, and scraped knees when the crew crosses the deck when tacking. Also, after breaking a couple of halyards stripped to the core due to UV deterioration and wear at sheaves at the top of the mast, I switched back to leaving the covers on the halyards. They last a lot longer this way.

:: I am trying to rig up my new express and had some
:: questions on the halyards.
::
:: Has anyone left the halyards cleated on the mast? My
:: rope clutches need replacing and I see some people have
:: eliminated them.
::
:: Any thoughts or suggestions?
::
:: Thanks.