Caaving ladders and masts

[jimi]

Anyone tried using caving ladders to go up the mast?

 

[Stevie_T]

Yes

 

[cliff]

Re: Caving ladders and masts

Yes, but found a couple of ascenders to be better or even better use a "mast monkey"
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[Vara]

Yes,and they are not good,treads to narrow and unless you can arrange an over hang when they lay alongside mast dont leave enough room to get feet onto tread,and when you get too top of mast difficult to get stable working platform.
Went back to using Whillans harness and ascendeurs.
BTW what happened to the great mast climbing challenge?

 

[Gin]

Yes, even when tethered at the foot to tension it, it was difficult to climb and I found that even trying to keep my weight over my feet I couldn't do so with the result I exhausted my energy before reaching the top and would have been in no condition had I made it.

I now use a Deffee mast ladder which attaches to the mainsail track for improved stability, also the rungs are rigid for better support plus I use a full harness with either a top rope attached to it or, if alone, a Petzl ASAP fall arrester attached to a safety line.

I can now scramble up and down the mast quite easily and with a waist strap I can lean back and relax when at the mast head which takes a lot of tension out of my legs and frees both hands to work, without having to hang on

 

[Twister_Ken]

Wotza caaving ladder? Anything to do with birthing cows?

 

[tcm]

ladders needed by short people to reach larger bottles of dodgy wine.

 

[Adonnante]

Its much easier and more comfortable to climb a mast using prussic knots, one as a foot loop the second attached to the bosuns chair, just sit down and stand up!

Peter.

 

[chamac]

Just imported one of these from the US
http://www.rollingriverdesigns.com/mastmate/index.htm
Didnt try it out yet but gets good press reviews on net.
Anyone use one?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Just take a look at the Mast Mate, one thing may be that it's worth keeping apair of rigid soled boots or shoes aboard, as it look likes the steps, being soft, would collapse around your foot and compress it f you're wearing standard deckies.

Look forward to your report on using it.

 

[Bejasus]

I too will be interested in your opinion, as I was thinking along the lines of purchasing one of these, having just had 2 trips to the top in a chair type hoisted up by SWMBO on winch. She found it hard going, and I found it uncomfortable and difficult to work near the top, and it would have been nigh on impossible to work on the top. As it was, I was just running a new topping lift so only had to reach up enough to rig a new block and feed the line, but not easy.

 

[chamac]

They recommend stiff soles although one guy claims to climb it barefoot. The thread part of the rungs are doubled webbing. The top two rungs are side by side and have stiffeners. It rolls up into a neat 15" by 2.5" size. Good thing is it gets you over the masthead with two hands free.

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone tried using caving ladders to go up the mast?

[/ QUOTE ]

I looked at all of this quite closely when I bought Rogue.... and fitted mast steps at a cost of about £500

28 steps @£15 each, + 112 monel rivets... about £50, (probably a chandlery rip off, but I didnt know any different).

It felt like a lot of money and I thought long and hard but, every time I got close to buying a cheaper option, something stopped me in my tracks.

I had visions of getting something rigged safely whilst wallowing in a big sea, or whatever, and decided that money now would make for a safer ascent later.

You really need to do it when the mast is down, but it's not a difficult job once you get started.

Others may disagree, and I'm sure I'll contradict myself in later posts <g>

Cheers

Richard

 

[Sea Devil]

It may be me but I have found the webbing mast ladder I have very difficult to use. Partly cos putting the shoes into the webbing far enough is difficult because of the proximity of the mast - (I have size 11 feet!) I also found it not easy to hold onto with my hands - again because of the flexibility. I would certainly want to have a halyard to me controlled by somebody at the bottom but the reason I was using the ladder was because the 2nd masthead halyard was out! the topping lift is too small for somebody of my weight.

I am going back to using a bosun's chair. I think fixed SS mast steps would be fine - again with a safety halyard...

 

[jimi]

I use an ascender and shunt. But had them anyway as part of my climbing gear. I saw some caving ladders cheap on Ebay and wondered about using them in combiation with the shunt. Think I'll stick with what I've got ... now caving ladders for MOB?

 

[owen]

having tried the caving ladder I would certainly no recommend it. very tiring to use and swings around too much. but hey cavers use them all the time so im sure technique has something to do with it.
I now use pietzl ascenders and a pietzl harness. it is simple safe and does not need another person to pull you up/ most importantly you can stand in the straps at the top of the mast and work above the mast.

 

[Boathook]

I made my own footrest out of ply and a spring loader jammer. When combined with a bosuns chair or similar you stand up and some one tails the chair line. You then sit down and pull your feet up. Keep repeating and you soon end up at the top of the mast. I must sort out a web site so that I can put in a link to the photo ......

 

[Oliveoyl]

Having been hoisted twice up the mast ( once in a Popeye invented sit harness, next in a bosuns chair), and having used caving ladders, i could imagine that caving ladders might be quite useful. Th thing is to have either hard shoes or hard feet, and to go up the ladder sort of backwards - difficult to explain without a drawing, but it's like the hands go up the front, and the legs go round the back, so the pressure on the feet is on the heels. Not tried it on a boat, but worked OK on a circus mast

 

[Sea Devil]

[ QUOTE ]
I now use pietzl ascenders and a pietzl harness. it is simple safe and does not need another person to pull you up/ most importantly you can stand in the straps at the top of the mast and work above the mast.


[/ QUOTE ]

I had a google around and found climbing sites - piezl ascenders and harness but not sure how to use them - or set them up or how to get down.... for somebody who knows nothing of climbing gear is this the way forward(up)? Or am I being wimpish?

 

[mithril]

Caving ladders, its the only way in my view. Couple of points tho . . .

dont tether the bottom - they hang vertically without and and so minimise weight on arms. Novices seen to believe the opposite however.

prussic knots - your having a laught surely. Used them loads and they are crap, really just for the purist, emergencies or showing off.

Ascenders are probably best for single handers but unless you are practised they can be a pain. Make sure you abseil down and not prussic down.

If spouse is available (and she always is cos we live aboard) I ladder up and am lowered down on the lifeline. I never let go of the ladder tho. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif