Mast climbing devices

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mocruising

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While single handed recently down wind sailing from Barcelona to Marseille the genoa (Furling) dropped into a heap in the sea. The snap shackle swivel on the halyard had failed. All was recovered and it was then that I realised I need to purchase some kind of mast climbing device. I don't like the idea of drilling the mast for steps and its a huge job. Has anyone any experience and or preference of this kind of equipment.
 
I had a similar failure with a swivel snapshackle off Lisbon a couple of years back. We used a spare halyard to get us out of trouble but we replaced the shackle with a non swivel type.The shackle was supplied with the Furlex rig but It doesnt need to be a swivel. Sorry no info on mast climbing.
 
Last week I ordered a "Get-up Mast Ladder from Hurst Marine. It hasn't arrived yet, but there was a previous post on one of these forums, where it got a good review. More details at www.hurst-marine.co.uk (although this website appears to be down at the moment).
Regards,
Declan.
 
Seeing as the Hurst Marine's website is still offline, I will give some more info. The ladder they make, is made from webbing. Slides are attached to this webbing which are custom made to fit into your mainsail track. Thus you hoist the webbing ladder up the mast and climb up or down.

Contact: Gerry Askham - gerry@hurst-marine.co.uk

Regards,
Declan.
 
We have just invested in a set of 'climbers'.Used by mountain climbers to get them up ropes they are two metal 'sliders' that you use to propel yourself up a rope hauled on a halyard. Make a couple of stirrups and away you go! Means you can get up completely single handed and you don't have masses of equipment hanging around that is rarely used. The climbing harness, get one with padded legs, two 'sliders' and 30m light strong climbing rope cost 135 UK pounds. We ordered it from a climbing specialist store in Milton Keynes
 
I went to a rock climbing school who set me up with all the correct gear and showed me how to use it.

I had alot of practise on there climbing tower and learned how to use it correctly
 
I can not remember the name of ours but it looks just like www.mastmate.com. We would not have managed without it. Although you do have to pull the sail out of the track, it is still my quickest method to get to the top. Still use the chair but it only needs to be tailed.
 
Re: Mast climbing devices - WARNING THIS COULD BE DANGEROUSE

Hi all

Wanted to sound a note of caution. I have lots of experience of rope climbing (up to 1000m pitches!!) it is an exellent techneque and has many advatages over outher means of getting up the stick but IT IS A SPECIALIST JOB REQUIRING TRAINING. To just buy the kit and work it out yourself could either leave you stranded up the mast or risk a fall. There are lots of places that do couses and a one day sould be sufficient but if possible go to soemone with CAVING experience. Climbers only use the techneque occasionally and tend to be mone concerned about making there normal kit do the job rather than setting up the ideal rig. Cavers use specialist harnessess and different jammers which work much better - especially for getting down!! I did note that someone mentioned using climbing rope. This should only be used as a safety line not for climbing, normal hallyards are much better for climbing but be cautious if you have left you hallyards up all winter for a couple of years...
 
Re: Mast climbing devices - WARNING THIS COULD BE DANGEROUSE

I'm an ex caver and would second that. I've done miles of rope and would urge caution, prusiking is the way to go but don't learn how to do it on your boat.
 
Under the rule that the probability of breaking something is proportional to the distance from a marina I would nor rely on any free rope methods. When going up a mast with any boat movement you need both hands to avoid hard contacts with the mast. So the only way is with steps attached to the mast (floppy ones or metal ones). We met a lone sailor in long beach California that tried a rope method while at sea and ended up upside down head just above the water and the stanchion caught in his harness! Probably the luckiest man in the world.
 
[ QUOTE ]
So the only way is with steps attached to the mast

[/ QUOTE ]
Whilst it is true that flying around on the end of a rope whilst at sea is a recipe for injury, steps are not the only way to achieve this. Correct use of safety harness with lateral attachments for work positioning allow securing oneself to the mast during ascent and descent. It is imposible to fall off or move far. With steps, one can still fall off, even with a safety line.

[ QUOTE ]
We met a lone sailor in long beach California that tried a rope method while at sea and ended up upside down head just above the water and the stanchion caught in his harness!

[/ QUOTE ]
Goes to show that training is necessarry.

This sort of establishment can offer one day courses tailored to your requirements
 
I have a topclimber which is an ascending device designed for yotties.

Here's a description

With due regard to the climbers and cavers this device works in a manner similar to the cavers/climbers prussocking,etc and you don't need training just strong leg muscles. I (15 1/2 stone) have been up to the top and back a few times using this and it is easy to use. I speak as one who is completely non-atheletic and a scaredy-cat as well.
 
Fit a block at masthead and run a line back to deck outside of mast. This can be a spare spinnaker halyard. Tie this line to your harness (or bosun's chair) and hand over hand up the line, easy to the top. But unless you are alone, and in extremis, ask crew to hold a second, safety, line which comes back through the mast onto a winch (no need for winding by crew) blocks do come apart, the mast doesn't!
 
Haul yourself up by hand?
Almost impossible for most of us. Doing it alone would be very dangerous for all of us.
 
I disagree it is not impossible, it is not even hard, I do it all the time and have done so in mid-ocean (but I use full riggers harness not the chair and I find bruises in places I didn't know I had!) But do try it, as soon as 50% of your body weight is transferred to the line back down from the block your chair/harness moves up. I can get to the top of the mast and back down again in less time than it takes SWMBO to winch me to the first spreaders using an ST52 and two handed winch handle.

As for second comment about being dangerous to do alone I agree 110%. But if I had to I would and would use climbing techniques: Use 9mm second nylon climbing rope (not a polyester halyard which is designed NOT to stretch) and set belays on the fixed points (on my boat spreadersx2, radar, steaming light) and once a higher safety point is attached go back and release the lower. You end up going up 10 feet, down five, up ten etc. Equally tedious on way back down and probably more dangerous as this is where you are likely to take chances.

Some other practical points:

Tempting though it is, NEVER use the snap shackle/spliced fitting on the end of the rope/halyard, always tie the rope to yourself.

Even with crew on deck, working on top of the mast is really difficult and to do it you need a couple of foot loops pulled up on another halyard and tied to the mast about three and four feet below mast top. You put a foot in each, ease a bit on your rope to the harness/chair, which will be holding your waist/chest to the top of the mast, and you can now stand up for short periods to work on the tricolour or VHF ariel or whatever.

Even when I have the safety line which comes back inside the mast I still add a second loop around the mast so that if it does goes pear shaped I only slid as far as the next fixed point. But do see last point below!

No matter what you put in your pockets you will forget something. Put all the tools in a bucket and tie bucket to you with a length of light line long enough to reach top mast (we keep this line in the bosun's chair). When you get where you need to do the work pull up the bucket and tie it off near you. When you realise you have forgotten something you just lower the bucket and do not have to go all the way down and back up again. When finished lower the bucket but even if you are in marina you will need crew to land the bucket. From 20m up the bucket will always swing into something sticking up from deck and empty your tools into the ocean.

Coming down hand over hand is more tiring than going up so it it easiest if crew tend the safety rope on a winch and can lower you safely on the safety rope.

Last point: I still tie myself off, on way up, way down and while working. But there is a story about couple in mid pacific. He went up the mast, tied himself off and had a heart attack. Three weeks later she got to port with the bits that had not dropped off onto the deck still rotting at the top of the mast.
 
Deffee mast ladder

here

has rigid steps - easier to use than an 'all-floppy' model. We decided we had to get a mast ladder of some sort as our mast winches are elderly and SWMBO would not find it easy to winch me up. Takes up a bit of space (rolls to abou the size of a sleeping bag) but it will be worth its keep teh day we need it in earnest.

- Nick
 
I'm sure you can do it but I said that for most of us it would be almost impossible.....there's too many "F's" in our lives........Fat, Flabby, Forty or Fifty. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

I might be able to haul myself up the mast but, even if I got there, I would be so knackered that I wouldn't be able to do anything useful.

I think that's why most people want to find something to make the job easier and therefore safer. I'm an ex-climber and rate the Petzl ascendeurs; they make climbing the mast as easy as climbing stairs. You've also got the loops to stand in when you get there.

I agree 1000% about using a bag or bucket on a line to get things up and down whilst you are working at the top!
 
We have a get up mast ladder from Hurst.

You drop the main and slide the lugs up, very secure, just climb up (if anyone else there then wear harness and take spare halyard clipped on), at top it has a belt arrangement you clip on so you can work hands free.

The ladder comes in a large orange bag (think of old gym bag size) and we use it tied to trews or belt to hold any tools or bits.
Far prfer to any chair arrangement, don,t float away from the mast if the boat heels
 
[ QUOTE ]
We have a get up mast ladder from Hurst.

You drop the main and slide the lugs up, very secure, just climb up (if anyone else there then wear harness and take spare halyard clipped on), at top it has a belt arrangement you clip on so you can work hands free.

The ladder comes in a large orange bag (think of old gym bag size) and we use it tied to trews or belt to hold any tools or bits.
Far prfer to any chair arrangement, don,t float away from the mast if the boat heels

[/ QUOTE ]

I must agree with you.

I have used a hurst often when I worked for a hire company.

I have now purchased one for my own use (part bought from ebay then the add on bit supplied by hirst)

The great thing is that no special training is required and a back up harness can be used as well.

Iain
 
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