Mast climbing: Will 8mm rope REALLY take my weight?

[Ruffles]

I have just bought a 'mast ladder' see here and was thinking through the safest way to climb the mast when I have my able assistant with me.

Never mind climbing the mast. You should have done a health and safety assesment before posting on this forum!
Still, once you're up the mast they won't be able to get you...

 

[savageseadog]

Suit yourself, if you think you can find everything you need to know about climbing the mast safely here then it's your funeral. All I am saying is that it would be best to get someone with experience to be there with you. If that is such a daft concept to you then that's your problem; not mine.

I know what you mean.
I did say that every time I post stuff about safely climbing masts people seem to find it a problem.

For what it's worth I'm hand winched up on my 10mm dyneema main halyard alone, by someone who knows what they are doing. I don't use a safety line because I normally do this with just one other person and controlling another line, particularly on descent might be a distraction. As an ex caver I have abseiled and ascended literally miles of rope, I've seen and experienced all kinds of situations on rope including a rope I was on visibly cutting through on a sharp flake of rock. I would use ascenders for mast climbing if I still had any by the way.

 

[chewi]

I agree, always use two lines .... it's more likely to slip or accidentally release than break - even with the outer UV damaged, the inner should easily hold you.

With a breaking strain of 2500 Kg, that means a force due to gravity of 24,500 Newtons is required before the rope breaks.

For your 80kg to exert a force of 24,500 Newtons on the rope you would need an average deceleration of -306.25 m/s^2. (F=ma).

Assuming the rope takes 0,2 secs to stretch and snap, with your final velocity equal to zero, you would need to be travelling at at least 61,25 m/s (220 Km/h) before the rope would break trying to stop you. a=(v2-v1)/t

This is considerably higher than the terminal velocity of a human body in the atmosphere. So you're ok.

(hope I got the maths right ... )

so one might fall, and decelerate gently, hit the deck at fatal speed, but the rope would be fine, not having acheived its limits?
so all is well!

 

[chewi]

I used a huge safety line once , but simplicity and control leads me to trust my crew and the line I bounce up and down on vigorously before I ascend.

You (prob) have a higher probability of getting run over by a bus afterwards than not surviving tne mast climb, because you are assessing the risks.

Why do we always implicate buses?

 

[Bav34]

because you are assessing the risks.

Good grief!

Another sensible person who actually read the original question.

Shame Judders seems incapable of doing the same

 

[chewi]

Good grief!

Another sensible person who actually read the original question.

Shame Judders seems incapable of doing the same

maybe he's a bus driver?

 

[Bav34]

Hope he can drive better than he can read

 

[chewi]

Hope he can drive better than he can read