WESail

Bound for Australia From Fiji to Make a Halyard Hook

Warren and Erica continue to sail the endless paradise-like islands of Fiji aboard Va. And while the Helia 44 is a great catamaran, like any boat, there are always things that owners think need improving. A little side-trip to Australia might provide an answer to one of their problems.

WESail

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Published 05/06/2026

By Graham Shaw

Issue: 208

Published: aug. / sept. 2026

Discover this issue

Who: Warren and Erica
Where: Fiji, South Pacific
Multihull: Helia 44
YouTube: @WESail

A new square-top mainsail is providing excellent performance when under way, but when it comes to hoisting it, dropping it and, in particular, stowing it in the lazy bag, attaching and detaching the halyard is a big hassle. It is really hard work to pull the cringle at the head of the sail up as far as the snap shackle on the headboard car. This is a well-known problem for modern mainsails with a big square roach, but fortunately there are various commercially available solutions, such as the Karver hook or Facnor’s gaff lock. The downside, as always, is cost. According to Warren’s research, “The Karver hook that would be the perfect answer for our needs costs between $1,500 and $2,000 – a considerable sum for us.” What if there were a more affordable solution?
Warren figures that the halyard hook he wants is really just a piece of anodized aluminum. If he could get hold of some aluminum and had access to the cutting and welding equipment required, surely, he could just make one of his own on a reduced budget? Such things are in short supply in the Yasawa Group of islands to the west of Fiji, but the couple began formulating a plan… starting by wondering who they knew who might have the necessary materials and tools.
The answer was obvious – their good friends and fellow sailing YouTubers, the crew of SV Delos: Bryan and Karin and their daughter Sierra are currently living ashore near Brisbane, Australia, as they work on the construction of Delos 2.0, a 53-foot aluminum exploration catamaran they’ve had designed by Villiers Marine Design and which is being built at Stradbroke Yachts (See our news article in MW203). There would certainly be enough offcuts of the material and all the tools that Warren could ever need at the yard. And what’s more, they could get there and back for less than the price of a gaff lock from one of the manufacturers.
So that’s exactly what they did – but on an Airbus A330, not on Va! The trip also meant they could catch up and spend time doing what blue water cruisers do best – chatting, drinking and generally having a good time with buddy boat friends. With a little help from Bryan, Warren fabricated the part he’d designed, henceforth to be known as the Cook Hook!
And once all the partying was over, it was time to return to Fiji and try out the new part. A recent video explains the whole story but also reveals that a few slight modifications might be required to the Cook Hook to finally achieve the desired result.