The Twisted Halyard Debate - Mike Firth's Solution

I think a pair of halyards twisted right around each other is pretty rare. The usual reason for sticking is mast bend - the spinnaker halyard is trapped between a tight genoa halyard and the aft surface of the mast wall. This can also happen to the main halyard. Put the ram on, take the rig tension off and the sail can be pulled down. To make sure that all the halyards are free, it might be worth trying this : rig the genoa halyard first and put tension on the rig.... run the main halyard and put tension on that as well.... and then run the spinnaker halyard.

MF