Climbing the Mast

[silver-fox]

SWMBO and I are but a few short weeks from moving on board permanently and there are a few taxing questions still to be dealt with - one of which is climbing the mast.

I have been thinking of a number of alternatives and would greatly value the opinion of more experienced husband and wife liveaboards who will already have tackled this issue.

We are both in our mid 50s and in good health. The problem is I am by far the strongest and the heaviest and whilst SWMBO has indicated her willingness to be hauled up the mast I would be very reluctant to do this in anything but the calmest of conditions.

For me to go up the mast would require either that I did it largely under my own steam or very slowly with SWMBO on the winch. Again I would have reservations about doing this unless it was calm because to put it bluntly whichever way round we do it the crew is too weak physically.

I can easily visualise a scenario where one or the other of gets to the mast top and has to use all our remaining energy to hang on rather than do anything useful! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I feel that we must have a solution to the problem of scaling the mast in a seaway in less than ideal conditions and so far think one of the solutions below may well be the answer - but which one?

1. Folding steps riveted to the mast
2. Climbing device like Top climber
3. Bosuns' chair together with electric anchor windlass for power (despite the notice in the windlass manual saying don't do this! Why is this I wonder?)
4. Temporary ladder hoisted on a halyard (but do these work with in mast reefing?)

At the moment I am leaning towards folding steps because they are permanently available and could be used for conning our way into remote anchorages etc. This is something I have never done, but much seems to be made of being able to get up to the crosstrees PDQ whilst wearing ploarised sunglasses if you want to see reefs and coral. On the other hand I don't like the thought of all those extra holes in the mast!

Advice gratefully received /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[rwoofer]

I regularly use the anchor windlass to get me up top (14 1/2 stone). My wife is more than happy to send me up now that we got this solution working. The halyard goes through a clutch on the mast, through a block at the bottom of the mast and then thru a final block attached to the bow roller so that the lead into the windlass is correct.

Can't see why manufacturers advise against this. Maybe it's in case people don't use a clutch and are fulling relying on the windlass.

 

[silver-fox]

Interesting! Some supplementary questions though...

1. Is it controllable easily on the way up so you get stopped in the right place?
2. How do you control the descent - friction? Oor do you use the windlass again in the opposite direction?

 

[Richard10002]

One of the first things I decided to spend money on was mast steps. 28 steps at 0.5m centres, with 2 steps level at the top so that my waist would be just below the mast head. So many boats have them that the holes in the mast cant really be an issue.

2 people have been to the first set of spreaders so far, (alongside), and it was easy.

For peace of mind, £500 well spent.

 

[Bajansailor]

We have permanent (non folding) mast steps all the way up the mast, and they are brilliant. I still use the bosun's chair attached to a halyard, but the hoister only has to tail on the halyard. Once at the top it is nice to be able to 'sit' in the chair, rather than standing all the time on the steps.
We also have light line running down the outside of the steps on each side of the mast, to avoid loose halyards wrapping themselves around the steps.

Re using an electric anchor winch to hoist someone up the mast - I went up a friends mast once, hoisted in this manner. Said friend is rather deaf though, and didnt hear me shouting to slow down / stop as I got near to the top...... I thought the winch was going to try and drag the chair and me through the sheave at the top..... fortunately he did stop just before the knot hit the sheave!

 

[wayneA]

Re using anchor windlass, I helped a friend to the top of his mast a few weeks ago - simlar problem as his wife didn't have the power to winch him using the mast winches. We used his S&L windlass which is rated for 200kg lift (my friend BTW is not anywhere near 200kg!) and he is now stuck in Italy buying a new windlass as we well and truly kn***ered the S&L. IMHO be careful when using a windlass - it may not be upto it.

Cheers

Wayne

 

[Poignard]

I fancy fitting mast steps but not sure I would trust pop rivets in my 40 year old aluminium mast and I can't think of any alternative except through bolts and tubes to prevent crushing which would add weight where it's not wanted, and be a lot of work to fit.

 

[Salty John]

We had mast steps on Adriana but preferred the bosuns chair/windlass solution. One year into the cruise we had the mast down for painting and took the opportunity to remove the steps. The steps are quite difficult to climb and are really most valuable as an aid to someone in the bosuns chair to take the load off the hoister. A good solution for single handers, however.
If you do go with steps you need the folding type or you should run a light wire down each side of the mast interconnecting the outer edge of the steps so they can't individually snag a halyard. We had the wire and it works reasonably well.

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
I fancy fitting mast steps but not sure I would trust pop rivets in my 40 year old aluminium mast and I can't think of any alternative except through bolts and tubes to prevent crushing which would add weight where it's not wanted, and be a lot of work to fit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I must admit to being somewhat naeive on things like this, but considered that, as the mast is in 2 sections which are joined by "pop rivets", (lots of them, and pretty big), 4 monel rivets for each step should be OK. I also took advice from the yard manager when I fitted them.

They seem pretty solid, and we would always use a halyard and bosuns chair to go up the mast - singlehanded may be an issue, but I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

 

[RBJ]

I used to use a webbing mast ladder but had these mast steps fitted a year ago.

http://www.keysaver.nl/index.php?ID=2317

I mostly sail single handed and have used them a lot. They are not heavy and fold away when not in use.

Very pleased with them.

Roger
S/V Kiriwina
www.kiriwina.com

 

[Bob]

There is some more information on mast steps HERE

Good luck.

 

[Simes]

What about the more traditional "Rat - Lines"?

these are easy to climb, allways available and do not suffer from haliard wrap.

They are easy to make and do not produce too much windage aloft.

Ours will be one Oroko then two rope, One Oroko then two rope.

The wood is much better to stand on that rope. It also helps to keep the correct distance between shrouds.

 

[RonPimm]

We're trying to solve the problem on our 40' mast at present. Going for a system that only requires one crewmember. Experimenting with 2 Petzel ascenders. Seems to have great potential and suspect it will be the one we go for (having tried several others). Local electronics guy frequently uses such a system to ascend masts in the course of his work. Combines with bosuns chair. Even I who is VERY nervous about heights feel quite secure when using it.

 

[Poignard]

If it's a typical Bermudan rig with two lower shrouds and one cap shroud each side they will only get you as far as the spreaders and also the ratlines will become too short for your feet as near the point where the lowers meet. You could add a couple of lines from shroud to mast as far as the spreaders [this is what Eric Hiscock had in Wanderer III] but if you tried that arrangement on the cap shrouds above the spreaders I should think there would be a tremendous "swigging" force pulling the cap shroud inboard when you stood on the line; at best it would sag badly, at worst something might get strained.

A compromise might be ratlines as far as the spreaders and mast steps after that.

 

[rwoofer]

It is very controllable on the way up. I would typically shout distance to my wife who has so far never overshot.

To come down, she takes the line off the windlass to one of the winches on the mast and let's me down like you would if you had used the winch in the first place. The key thing with my setup is that the rope goes through a spinlock clutch first.

My windlass is 1200W BTW and it really does get you up quickly. My ground tackle weighs about 150kg all in (25kg anchor and 125kg chain) so my weight is quite a lot less. I suppose it could be a problem if your windlass is not very powerful eg 500W.

I originally got the idea from reading about a long term cruiser who did the same things without a problem.

 

[silver-fox]

Richard

Thanks for that feedback. My windlass is the SeaWolf originally supplied by Simpson Lawrence. I can't remember the power but I do remember from a recent read through the user manual that it is rated to a pull of 875lbs - which I am glad to say is more than enough - even for generously proportioned northern lad like me.

I have taken on board your caveats about running the halyard through a clutch and getting the angle of pull right on the windlass by using properly postioned blocks. Its obviously going to be important to see that friction is at a minimum too.

Bearing in mind an earlier post from Wayne (Hitrapia) I am now trying to figure out how it could possibly damage the windlass - after all from the boom the masthead can't be much more than 50 ft. If the load is well within tolerance then running long enough to pull in 50ft of line should be too short a time to cook it surely?

I am inclined to give it a go, and if that doesn't satisfy me as a safe practical route to the masthead then folding steps it is! That said I may still get a couple anyway for the masthead.

 

[SeaVenture]

We originally had mast steps, but didn't like the water ingress into our wooden mast so removed them when we had the mast redone. As far as my husband was concerned, they were just more holes to worry about. He tried the Petzel climbing rig, which let him get up there by himself, but his legs felt numb after a certain amount of time aloft. Hoisting him in the bosun's chair can be done, but it's hard on me. Using the anchor windlass required someone else around and manning it, and sometimes he needs to go aloft when I'm not onboard. So we recently went with a Mastlift 10-to-1 hoist by which he can easily get himself to the top and sit happily in the bosun's chair as long as he needs to. The sales info suggests two halyards tied to the Mastlift and then trust the Spectra line attached to the chair. We prefer to have two halyards on the Mastlift and the topping lift as Michael's security line.

 

[gavin_lacey]

We are a husband and wife - mid fifties. No problem using bosuns chair and winch. Lewmar 40 self tailing through clutch. Either one can lift the other. On larger boats with larger winches mounted on the coachroof there is no comparison to a small mast mounted winch. The chances of having to go up in bad weather are fairly low and a bosuns chair allows you to go up the forestay or shroud.

 

[sailingcatlady]

I had the folding type of step on my mast. I used them for the five years I was single-handing - never had any problem with them. In fact, I thought they were "brilliant". The only thing I think people should consider when installing steps is the distance between each step. As I am only just over 5 ft high, I had the steps put only 14" apart. (that's from memory!). It's very important to feel you have a comfortable distance to step. You don't want an additional stress factor.
The folding steps mean you don't need to put a line down to prevent halyard wrap, and they have a wide and comfortable base under foot. They're a bit more expensive than the type one sees most often, but it's money well spent. Having the right steps means you don't postpone going up the mast to do a job, because you know you can do it easily and in comfort and in safety. (All relative, I know!) Another "pro" factor is I found they unexpectedly didn't rattle but lay snuggly against the mast. Go for them! All your partner has to do is hold your safety line safely.

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
I fancy fitting mast steps but not sure I would trust pop rivets in my 40 year old aluminium mast and I can't think of any alternative except through bolts and tubes to prevent crushing which would add weight where it's not wanted, and be a lot of work to fit.

[/ QUOTE ]Have you considered Rivnuts? They spread out on the back a lot more than "pop" rivets.
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