Mast Ascending options : recommendation needed

oldmanofthehills said:
yes but you clearly are a climber and have all the kit. It would be fairly expensive to but that lot just for mast climbing and I for one get knacked prussicing up ropes
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That stuff bought in a climbing shop can be pretty cheap compared to marine stuff.. also available on ebay or guys who gave up climbing..( my gear has not seen a rock or cliff for more than 30 years,) no need for dedicated climbing rope I just happen to have one that I keep in the same bag as the harness etc..

My friend recently gave me some ppe (harness, clutch etc) for working on my roof and that could easily be used/modified I think he got it for a few quid from a satellite dish installer who was required to buy a new one every 5 years .

I found prussiking to be more physically demanding, probably because there is a "mental tension" but I would always carry the making of a prusik with me just in case.

I often wondered about the use of a 12v winch (Car Electric Winch | 12v Winch | ieDepot) with a remote control and a dyneema line that could be permanently fitted (probably to a bulkhead in a cockpit locker) and rigged easily to be used for MOB recovery, dingy retrival, assending mast etc...
 
pandos said:
I found prussiking to be more physically demanding, probably because there is a "mental tension" but I would always carry the making of a prusik with me just in case.
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Approaching 74, no longer physically capable of using many methods - I spent enough time swinging around on wire ladders during my caving days anyway. Will stick to sitting in the chair and letting something or someone else do the hard bit :)
 
LadyInBed said:
I have always used a bosun's chair and been winched up (a turn around a mast winch and two turns on the electric anchor windlass) but I have lately been thinking about making a ladder. Apart from tensioning the foot, I thought that adding a couple of pairs of guy ropes would keep the ladder stable, the top pair, attached to the ladder about 3/4 of the way up and going out around the upper Shrouds and lower pair, attached to the ladder about 1/2 of the way up and around the aft lower Shrouds, then all tensioned at the base of the mast.
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There was a horror story last year(?) about using an electric windless. Assorted appendeges lost. Virtually every reply agreed that only manual should be used.
 
Lets be honest - there have been arguments about what should and can be done .... that its an endless road to nothing.

I took a lot of stick in a club one time because I offered to winch a guy up his mast (bilge keel Pageant) when it was in the Club compound ... I was told it was completely unsafe and could only be done when boat afloat ...

Guy on the boat looked at me and shrugged shoulders ... so I offered to go in his place even though I was a lot heavier ... he said - no and that he was going up ...

I sorted his line back to MANUAL winch and safety was looked after by 3rd guy fed to a cleat ... guy went up - did the job ... cam down ... all done.

Doom-merchants all muttering to themselves ....

No doubt someone here is going to say I was wrong .... fair enough.
 
Back a bit, I went up several masts. Sometimes by my own efforts, sometimes with help. One enduring memory was a solo effort up a quite tall mast, along with some oxy/acetalyne kit on another rope. Then some arris decided to dock his big mobo with a lot of for & aft big throttle close by. I nearly got brained by the bottles as the boat rolled and it was 35 ton.
On the ascenders, how do you release them to go down? No obvious way? or does the deck crew just let you down?
 
FWIW, the use of ascendeurs to go up AND down a mast is potentially hazardous. People who use them for their intended purpose, in climbing and caving, are taught how to use them..... what the possible problems are, and how to avoid/deal with them.

I have a pair of ascendeurs myself. I've used then and will again, insh'allah, to get up/down a mast.

My firm recommendation is for one to be taught and, as there are climbing walls dotted all round the country, a short visit to one for some pro instruction is part of my recommendation.
 
DownWest said:
Back a bit, I went up several masts. Sometimes by my own efforts, sometimes with help. One enduring memory was a solo effort up a quite tall mast, along with some oxy/acetalyne kit on another rope. Then some arris decided to dock his big mobo with a lot of for & aft big throttle close by. I nearly got brained by the bottles as the boat rolled and it was 35 ton.
On the ascenders, how do you release them to go down? No obvious way? or does the deck crew just let you down?
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I found out how good a Tabernacle is on my Snapdragon 23 when on the mooring at Tudor Club.

My oldest son when he was about mid teens used to help me raise and lower my mast ..

One day I want to fix my wind indicator which had gummed up ... bird poop or whatever. As usual we started to let it down without frames or poles as we had countless times before ...

Two bl***y Jetskis came thundering through the moorings to do the Portsea Island circuit ..... my boat rocked and rolled like mad ... James and I fought to hold that mast that was near half lowered ...

Amazingly - that tabernacle did its job and not a mark or any damage to the mast at all.

How I wish I had one on my present boat !!
 
I don't understand yard rules sometimes. About 18 years ago, we bought present boat in used boat show at Swanwick and I decided to do a few jobs before launching for delivery trip to Conwy. I needed to mount radar on mast and working alone, asked if I could borrow a ladder to reach about half way up mast - not a chance, too dangerous if I fell off was the excuse but, they were happy for me to borrow it when in the water, regardless of wash from passing boats making it far more dangerous. They owned the marina as well but different rules applied although most likely the same safety officer doing risk assessments.
 
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Graham_Wright said:
Never, NEVER use an electric winch. The topic has been well aired here and the dire stories are abundant. Research the reasons.
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I don't think that I would use an electric winch, but my anchor windlass is well up to the job.
It is 'one way' and has a horizontal shaft rope capstan, operated by a deck foot switch so the operator isn't in touching distance of the windlass when tailing it.
 
Refueler said:
Lets be honest - there have been arguments about what should and can be done .... that its an endless road to nothing.

I took a lot of stick in a club one time because I offered to winch a guy up his mast (bilge keel Pageant) when it was in the Club compound ... I was told it was completely unsafe and could only be done when boat afloat ...

Guy on the boat looked at me and shrugged shoulders ... so I offered to go in his place even though I was a lot heavier ... he said - no and that he was going up ...

I sorted his line back to MANUAL winch and safety was looked after by 3rd guy fed to a cleat ... guy went up - did the job ... cam down ... all done.

Doom-merchants all muttering to themselves ....

No doubt someone here is going to say I was wrong .... fair enough.
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The presumed danger really relates to single keel boats where a little fidget at the mast head can dislodge the wedges leading to catastrophe (you, your boat and any others in line). In a cradle or on a bilge keeler - no problem.
 
AlexKT7 said:
thanks to everyone who responded. I have found an interesting DIY version Ultimate Mast Climbing and to be honest, the more I do the research the more I like an idea of climbing ascenders and redundancy put in place. I guess spending £99 on 2 climbing lessons ( Book your adult beginner indoor climbing course at Craggy Island ) combined with having some fun :) is the best investment;

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A few comments.

I like the ascender which looks less vicious than the Petzl version. The method of locking on the static line looks better also.
One foot on a flexible loop - grim! Squeezes your foot and poor stability. (Can use two loops which is better).
Knee bend. I have embarrassed myself by taking too big a step and ending up with a right angle in my knee that was impossible to straighten. Total lockup!
Note the biceps. He pulls up on the rope. I can't grip tight enough for that and my shoulder joints are not what they used to be.
Climbing harness with no chest restraint. This cannot prevent an inversion.
No back up safety line (but that omission may be just for the video).
Finally and most importantly, try working with that rig at the masthead.

In my experience, you need both feet on something solid for any extended visit to the masthead. Add a strap round the mast and you have two free hands. If the solid "somethings" (mast steps or - you know ;)) are high enough, you can look down on the masthead instead of blindly fumbling.
 
Another vote in favour of the Topclimber. I've been using one at least four times a year for more than twelve years without any problems. It's main advantage over other systems is its comfort. I have spent more than two hours at a masthead without suffering loss of circulation to the legs or crushed hips which always seem to result from the use of a traditional bosun's chair. Ascending the mast is virtually effortless as ones legs do most of the work. Per the maker's instructions I use a dedicated climbing line which is attached to a convenient halyard and then hoisted to the masthead. It is tied off at the mast foot after threading on the Topclimber's two jammers. A Prusik knot is used to attach my safety harness to a separate line which is also hoisted on a different halyard. Should I become stuck up the mast i could be lowered to deck level by a third party releasing the two halyards in use. I'm nearer eighty than seventy so my progress upwards tends to be at a leisurely pace but, as I mentioned before it's virtually effortless and I'm in controll.
Mike
 
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