Mast Climbing

[PRV: I imagine Petzl ascenders can fit a small range of rope diameters, but I very much doubt they come in “Selden” size}

Well, I've used them on ropes between 8mm and 11mm diameter (and up to 80m long in both cases - it gets pretty bouncy, especially on 8mm!). I think they would do 12mm OK, as most caving 11mm ropes get pretty bulked out by mud after a bit of use.

Steve
 
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Whoosh?

A fulmar's air draught is comfortably within range of cherry pickers, potentially one could be hired for a day*.

If you are capable of shinning up the mast itself then you could consider: get a lift on jib/spinnaker halyard as far as the hounds, get a prussik onto the backstay, climb to the masthead bringing the prussik with you while your assistant pays out the halyard. You would need some way to shorten up the prussik to hold you close to the masthead. BTW this is not a terribly safe idea but could work in extremis; I would not recommend it.

Don't forget to bring the mousing line and any tools with you.

*And ask around whether anyone else wants to get in on the action. As an example:
http://www.smartplatforms.co.uk/self-drive-truck-mount-hire/self-drive-cherry-picker-hire-rates/
 
I'm a climber. Well used to jugging up a rope using prussics.

Have done something similar using the mast directly, but I changed the technique to take account of two things:

- The mast has frequent obstructions

- The mast is a lot larger than a rope in cross section and so you can get friction using all sorts of hitches that wouldn't normally provide it.

Bearing this in mind, the last time I went up the mast I did the following:

Wearing a climbing harness, I tied into the halyard. My partner was on the winch. I took a length of 5mm accessory cord, just over a metre long, and tied a loop for my foot in the bottom.

I then attached the other end round the mast, above the gooseneck using a clove hitch. Weighting it provided enough friction to stop it slipping.

Stand up, get my partner to take the slack in, sit in the harness, slide the loop up the mast, repeat.

When I came to an obstruction (lights, spreaders, etc), I undid the clove hitch and reattached just above.

Even though I have 2 sets of spreaders it took me about a minute to get up the mast, and my partner didn't have to work hard on the winch. It worked really well and i will use this method in future.

ETA: It occurs that without the main halyard to support your weight, this could be a bit hairy. Might I suggest you rig a line with a bunch of alpine butterflies and haul it up on your jib halyard? you could use these as foot loops to take your weight while you move the sliding line up. Also, clip in to a loop at your waist with a carabiner each time you remove the sliding loop from the mast.

When you reach the top of the jib halyard, you can stand up on a loop at the top of it and keep yourself tethered to the mast using the sliding loop at your waist. Hopefully this will allow you to reach the top.

Be bloody careful up there.
 
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sgr143 said:
[PRV: I imagine Petzl ascenders can fit a small range of rope diameters, but I very much doubt they come in “Selden” size}

Well, I've used them on ropes between 8mm and 11mm diameter (and up to 80m long in both cases - it gets pretty bouncy, especially on 8mm!). I think they would do 12mm OK, as most caving 11mm ropes get pretty bulked out by mud after a bit of use.
Click to expand...

And a mast’s diameter is what, 200mm on average? :)

Pete
 
FulmarJeddo said:
I have a pair of ascenders, I think they are Petzl, I bought from Decathlon a few years ago, that fit quite nicely on my 10 or 12mm halyard.
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I’m sure they’ll fit nicely on the OP’s friend’s halyard too. However, since it was last seen lying in a heap in the yard, that’s unlikely to do him much good :p

Pete
 
prv said:
I’m sure they’ll fit nicely on the OP’s friend’s halyard too. However, since it was last seen lying in a heap in the yard, that’s unlikely to do him much good :p

Pete
Click to expand...
Sorry Pete, I misunderstood your comment. I thought you were saying the Petzls wouldn't fit the halyard. They would need to be pretty huge lumps of hardware to work on a mast :)
 
Unless a cherry picker is an option, I would leave it until the boat is afloat. I don't readily trust boats in cradles for going up.

One approach which I have seen is to use a normal aluminium ladder, hoisted on a jib halyard attached to around the middle. The bottom can be lashed to the mast, as can the portion above the hounds as you get up there. Then use Prusik or similar around the mast, but you have the ladder to climb with your feet. I'd practice the pusik malarkey at low elevation perhaps?

Another reason for doing it afloat, I have found that halyards are less likely to end up wrapped around one another if you can heel the boat a little, so the 'mouse' slides down the wall inside the mast rather than swinging around.
 
If you go to any boatyard surely they will just lower someone the mast when launching ? The mast cannot be that difficult to lower and hold in slings around the spreaders on launch or am I missing something here ? When did he last lower his mast to check? Maybe it's time for a rigging inspection and your problem might be solved?
 
ashtead said:
If you go to any boatyard surely they will just lower someone the mast when launching ? The mast cannot be that difficult to lower and hold in slings around the spreaders on launch or am I missing something here ? When did he last lower his mast to check? Maybe it's time for a rigging inspection and your problem might be solved?
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Not an option where the boat is. We use a tractor pulled cradle for launch and recovery. He would need to hire in a crane specifically for the mast. He was talking about someone he knew with a truck with a hiab. I'm not sure quite what he had in mind with that.
 
ashtead said:
If you go to any boatyard surely they will just lower someone the mast when launching ? The mast cannot be that difficult to lower and hold in slings around the spreaders on launch or am I missing something here ? When did he last lower his mast to check? Maybe it's time for a rigging inspection and your problem might be solved?
Click to expand...

Many places, getting anything done on launch day is difficult. Unstepping a keel stepped mast is not a trivial undertaking. This might be deck stepped though. Getting a halyard reeved? rove? with the mast not vertical can be a trial. It's not a ten minute job to do while the clock's ticking on a hired crane. It's bound to go off-message with everyone waiting for you. I'd get the boat launched, then consider a cherry picker.
 
On the day of our town's annual Fair Day, the town stalwarts used to compete to climb the "Greasy Pole". It was something like a vertical 30ft telegraph pole liberally slathered with tallow/grease. Obviously, there was a substantial prize for the first to reach the top. I think it may have been a chicken, and/or maybe £1. Anyway, it was hotly contested.

Sadly, nowadays such rustic fun is rather frowned on.

This probably doesn't help the OP one iota, but his friend's predicament brought it to mind. I think the ladder method suggested in #27 would be worth investigation.
 
I have seen small boats leaned other to larger ones in the Med for mast work but I thought this also might not work for the OP either in his landlocked location but not nearly as good as a greasy pole competition . I think we need some photos though of the eventual solution if this is chosen route
 
NormanS said:
On the day of our town's annual Fair Day, the town stalwarts used to compete to climb the "Greasy Pole". It was something like a vertical 30ft telegraph pole liberally slathered with tallow/grease. Obviously, there was a substantial prize for the first to reach the top. I think it may have been a chicken, and/or maybe £1. Anyway, it was hotly contested.

Sadly, nowadays such rustic fun is rather frowned on.

This probably doesn't help the OP one iota, but his friend's predicament brought it to mind. I think the ladder method suggested in #27 would be worth investigation.
Click to expand...

My fee for going up masts is often a chicken...... jalfrezi, with beers and side dishes.
 
I’m not sure why a cherry picker is not thought possible, would cost about £450 to hire one if delivery / collection
 
RivalRedwing said:
If he is on the Medway then an option, not without expense, would be a trip to Gillingham Marina to see if they still have a high lift cherry picker type vehicle available (part of the Parham's building empire). I used it once to get to the top of my mast - a very leisurely way of doing it.
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Personally I would use Chatham Marina lock as it is wider and longer. There should be sufficient purchase using a genoa halyard across the lock at low tide springs to pull the boat over. The top of the mast would be close to the platform of the lock building. Suggest you would need at least three people, 2 on the boat and one for the top of the mast. Very safe to do it this way. Best to do mid week. Check with me David and I might be able to help on the day.
 
Concerto said:
Personally I would use Chatham Marina lock as it is wider and longer. There should be sufficient purchase using a genoa halyard across the lock at low tide springs to pull the boat over. The top of the mast would be close to the platform of the lock building. Suggest you would need at least three people, 2 on the boat and one for the top of the mast. Very safe to do it this way. Best to do mid week. Check with me David and I might be able to help on the day.
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Thanks Roger. I will suggest that to the owner. He may have his own ideas. He is quite a practical guy, but when I had to break the news to him last night he was in shock and didn't really know what to do. He currently has the engine out, I'm not sure why, I didn't get to talk to him about that, so won't be back in the water for a few weeks at least. I guess Chatham wouldn't want him in the lock for too long once the season picks up. The boat is a bit of project from what I have seen, he only bought it this year. An ex sailing school boat. We were a little sceptical when we heard he had bought it as its fin keeled, but the keel sinks into our soft mud perfectly upright. It makes 11 Westerlys at Lower Halstow now.
 
Daverw said:
I’m not sure why a cherry picker is not thought possible, would cost about £450 to hire one if delivery / collection
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Last time I needed one, a man with a cherry picker charged me under £100. The job was done in a few minutes, I wouldn't mind that hourly rate, but it saved me money and got the job done.
Look for firms who use them to clean windows etc.
 
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