Is Mast climbing just for small people.......

aquaholic

aquaholic

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6ft 1" and just 16 stone, am I too big for the keel stepped mast on my 38ft awb??
Been thinking about it, swmbo on the winch might be the real problem.
Or should I get a friend up there instead?
 
Well I am only slightly lighter and I pop up as required on our 36ft boat. Mind you I had the sense to fit steps which makes it all so much easier
 
No you aren't to big. just get one of these mast climbing things where you do the work going up and your wife tails the rope round the winch. Coming down she just releases the rope in a controlled manner. You must remind her not to fast otherwise the boat gets damaged as you hit it !

I suspect that others will up with links with the climbers ...

Edit - Heres one I made quite a few years ago and it is still in use.
 
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Me 6' 2", crew 5' 3", similar disparity in weight.

Booked myself on a mast climbing course which covers unassisted climbing.

Reckon I'll cover the cost in two mast climbs, as opposed to employing rigger.
 
aquaholic said:
6ft 1" and just 16 stone, am I too big for the keel stepped mast on my 38ft awb??
Been thinking about it, swmbo on the winch might be the real problem.
Or should I get a friend up there instead?
Click to expand...

Provided that the boat remains upright there should not be any stability problem. The moment you are suspended by the main halyard your weight is acting from the top of the mast so if the mast keeps pointing straight up then, it will remain so with you at the mast head. Don't use the halyard plus yourself as a penulum though as you will find it very easy to rock the boat which can be uncomfortable when near the top!

Perhaps its an exercise for a calm day in the marina rather than offshore in a swell.

If you have an electric anchor windlass and a couple of heavy duty snatch blocks you can probably lead the halyard to the windlass and make it easier on the crew. Also, think about a safety system so that you do not go into free fall if the lifting halyard slips on the winch. I use a rock climbers clamp on a second halyard, it slides up but jambs with a downward load.

Take your camera with you, the view from the top is worth recording.
 
There are two sides to your question.
Is the mast srtrong enough to support you ? As other posters have answered yes it is

Second question: what are the relative weights of the person climbing and the person on deck? If the lighter person is capable of carrying out the task aloft, on our boat that is who ascends.
 
aquaholic said:
6ft 1" and just 16 stone, am I too big for the keel stepped mast on my 38ft awb??
Been thinking about it, swmbo on the winch might be the real problem.
Or should I get a friend up there instead?
Click to expand...

I weighed about that when I went up the mast on a neighbouring 26-footer to change the anchor lamp.

I had no problem but the boat's owner had to have a sit down after winching me up!
 
Check your bosun's chair or harness. Many of them have a SWL of only 100Kg. I've got the same problem and was going to get a Spinlock harness.
 
If you have an electric anchor windlass and a couple of heavy duty snatch blocks you can probably lead the halyard to the windlass and make it easier on the crew.
Click to expand...
puddock said:
NO NO NO !!! :eek:
Click to expand...

I'm 17 stone and have been doing it like that since I've had this boat (12 years).
- a turn round a mast winch then forward to the anchor winch.

Note the attentive support crew!!

UpMast1.jpg
 
Mast climbing

Even when you get to the top you will find that jobs unless very simple are not easily done. You might end up postponing work or getting the mast down.
Around here bridges mean that most boats have mast lowering provisions. Even keel stepped masts can have a hinge put in just above the deck. I posted photos several years back back. Even really big masts can and are lowered for bridge transit. (70ft boat 95ft mast!) consider it will be expensive but will repay in the long run. good luck olewill
 
One purchaser at the London Boat Show was six foot six, wide (not fat) and his wife was five foot two and petite. Consequently it was always she who went up. She didn't mind but sometimes found she could not do the job once she reached the top.

On the other hand, he didn't like her going up at all even though it was he who tended the winch.

After trying our MastaClimba on our demo rig which they found a doddle, they bought and went away looking forward to swapping rôles.

We probably have more experience than most at ascending masts although a vast majority are on our 15 foot demo rig.

We have had feedback and experiences from a wide range of mast climbers.

Distilling this, the two most important messages (which we heartily agree with) are DO NOT EVER USE AN ELECTRIC WINCH and always wear a safety harness in your personal control.

Whatever device you use to assist your ascent, wear a separate safety harness that you can clip on (caribiner, Ascendeur or prussic) to whatever is local and with a sufficiently short range of movement to prevent a fall (rather than arrest it).

Another warning issued by a professional rigger was never ascend a mast on the hard in shores;- it is possible to dislodge the wedges by your motion at the mast head.
 
I have a device called a gri-gri which was bought to help my kids operate a belay when climbing. These can be used as a very effective self-stopper when the fall of the safety rope, as opposed to the hoisting rope, is clipped through. The simpler Tiblocks also work well, but can damage the rope sheath if they do take the strain.

Also:
- Use a tape sling to secure yourself once at the masthead.

- Always use a safety rope. I have had a wire halliard snap when going up a mast...

- Tie your tools to the bosun's chair or they can make big holes in the deck or anyone below.

- Leave phone, watch & sunglasses in the saloon - take them up and they'll drop in the drink, left on deck they'll get stood on.
 
SAPurdie said:
I have a device called a gri-gri which was bought to help my kids operate a belay when climbing.


We use a grigri for a single handed ascent (well actually the descent)

- Leave phone, watch & sunglasses in the saloon - take them up and they'll drop in the drink, left on deck they'll get stood on.
Click to expand...

……………but don't forget the single hander who went up and became stuck at the masthead;- it was only his mobile 'phone that enabled his rescue!
 
I take the phone with me, to take photo's of everything at the masthead and any rigging etc I don't like the look of. It's a cheap old phone.
Winching someone up is stupidly hard work, some sort of cleat-on-a-step arrangement allows the climber to do all the work with their legs.
The winch person just has to take up the slack on a second halyard.
You will notice most halyards are stretchier than you thought!
First time you do it, get a couple of extra helpers, just in case you have some sort of tangle.

Make sure the halyards are in good order, the smaller they are, the more important this is!
 
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