Mast Climbing

[Graham_Wright]

Perfectly correct. I regularly go up with an electric winch pulling me up, but insist on the halyard being tailed by hand. The awful accident a few years back happened because the halyard was in the self tailer and for some reason that never became clear the winch would not stop. I have the main halyard on the electric winch hauling me up in the bosuns chair with a second halyard attached to my harness, and just gently pulled up through a rope clutch to take out any slack by a second helper. My feet are in my mast step which slides up the tensioned topping lift so that I can stand on it at the top.

There are many stories as to "why why not". You used the word "just". Banned in my factory and at home!

The most exciting "why not" is when the winch doesn't stop when you lift your finger off the button. Panic sets in and makes it worse.

 

[peter gibbs]

Much loose talk circulates on this topic - climbing any form of floating ladder or ladder substitute like loops in a prussic knots is dangerous. I think you know that, so don't even consider it.

I climb my 15m mast using a 12m dedicated climbing rope with two ascenders, the upper one supporting a proper bosuns chair, and the lower a bar of wood to provide upward propulsion and foot support. This way there is no risk of sudden loss of altitude nor inversion - a risk seldom considered but all too possible.

What's safety worth? Two months in rehab from a fall or £100 for the proper gear? Answers on a get well card....

PWG

 

[thinwater]

I've sailed for 35 years and climbed all over, thousands of pitches, for just as long. I've also worked at height in industry. There are many safe ways to climb and many less so. I think the best way to look at this, rather than to critisize other views, is to list the basics and make certain our system has them:

1. All support gear meets strength requirements. 4500 pounds is a good baseline. This includes old halyards and the pulleys they cross. Since we can't always be sure of this, we make sure we use several.
2. Harness or boson's chair you can't fall out of. If you can push it down, off your hips, it is not suitable. Must be UIAA, ANSI, or EN stamped for climbing. Much of the boat store stuff is terrifying. You can wear a simple climbing harness with a cheap bosson's chair.
3. At least two independent points of support. Two ascenders on a many halyard is not two points, it is one point.
4. A way to lower the climber in event of an emergency. It's happened.
5. Well trained belayer or suitable solo system. A single rope on a winch is not a very good belay, since I've known two fatals caused by the turns coming off the winch. It can happen. Practice belaying before climbing high.
6. If carabiners are used, only UIAA or EN 362 rated and locking. No boat shackles, not even D-shackles.

And check your work. So long as the belays are good, the harness well fitted, knots checked, and the people trained, many sorts of climbing devices can work, including ladders and ascenders.

Climbing classes of all sorts are good, but make sure you have met the above conditions. Remember that one important difference is that climbing you often use one rope, but that is because you can inspect the entire rope and know it's history. Halyards are different.

 

[Tim O]

I've sailed for 35 years and climbed all over, thousands of pitches, for just as long. I've also worked at height in industry. There are many safe ways to climb and many less so. I think the best way to look at this, rather than to critisize other views, is to list the basics and make certain our system has them:

1. All support gear meets strength requirements. 4500 pounds is a good baseline. This includes old halyards and the pulleys they cross. Since we can't always be sure of this, we make sure we use several.
2. Harness or boson's chair you can't fall out of. If you can push it down, off your hips, it is not suitable. Must be UIAA, ANSI, or EN stamped for climbing. Much of the boat store stuff is terrifying. You can wear a simple climbing harness with a cheap bosson's chair.
3. At least two independent points of support. Two ascenders on a many halyard is not two points, it is one point.
4. A way to lower the climber in event of an emergency. It's happened.
5. Well trained belayer or suitable solo system. A single rope on a winch is not a very good belay, since I've known two fatals caused by the turns coming off the winch. It can happen. Practice belaying before climbing high.
6. If carabiners are used, only UIAA or EN 362 rated and locking. No boat shackles, not even D-shackles.

And check your work. So long as the belays are good, the harness well fitted, knots checked, and the people trained, many sorts of climbing devices can work, including ladders and ascenders.

Climbing classes of all sorts are good, but make sure you have met the above conditions. Remember that one important difference is that climbing you often use one rope, but that is because you can inspect the entire rope and know it's history. Halyards are different.

what he said....sound advice

 

[ora.davide]

that's it.

as i've already wrote, climb the mast is a Climber affair (in my opinion).. not a sailors..; ropes and gears should be bought in a climber stores..
and emergency devices must be present if something happen.

 

[SV Kittiwake]

100% agree Ora. We've done a fair bit of climbing and mountaineering, and always use that gear when we're climbing the mast.

The idea of Elena hauling me up the mast in a bosun's chair seems way less safe than being in a proper climbing harness, ascending a halyard (we use one WC ropeman and one Petal Shunt) and Elena belaying me on the spinnaker halyard. All secured using climbing screwgate carabiners.

I also have slings so that if I need to untie from one of the lines I can secure myself to the spreaders of something at the top of the mast. And I have a belay plate so that I can abseil down something if needs be (say if I dropped something on Elena and hurt her).

I might make a video about how we do it at some point.

 

[ora.davide]

good.
i'm very keen on masthead climb ( i like stay up.. high.)..
since when i had to invent to climb my mast because i hoisted my halyards..
up to masthead..
then it has become a passion. i've build my ladders 1.0.. 2.0.. 3.0.. and so on ..
i didn't believe (and i do not) in all the sailors boat owners with their new boats where all it is new and clean and every's perfect... and when they had to climb the mast .. they must face the true so they appear exactly what they are.... and all comes to the reality ( i'm kidding.. maybe)
------------------
great kittywake

great your video
beautiful catamaran, i like nice little boats ( like mine.. dufour 2800 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd9l_gztks )
if you sail to rome, hope to meet you .( ora.davide@tiscali.it)

i don't like catamarans very much.. but yours is pretty, really nice little home very cute.

davide

 

[NormanS]

100% agree Ora. We've done a fair bit of climbing and mountaineering, and always use that gear when we're climbing the mast.

The idea of Elena hauling me up the mast in a bosun's chair seems way less safe than being in a proper climbing harness, ascending a halyard (we use one WC ropeman and one Petal Shunt) and Elena belaying me on the spinnaker halyard. All secured using climbing screwgate carabiners.

I also have slings so that if I need to untie from one of the lines I can secure myself to the spreaders of something at the top of the mast. And I have a belay plate so that I can abseil down something if needs be (say if I dropped something on Elena and hurt her).

I might make a video about how we do it at some point.

I would never use a spinnaker halyard for this. They are usually on a hanging block, rather than on a sheave in the mast, which is much safer.

 

[[163233]]

I climb my 15m mast using a 12m dedicated climbing rope with two ascenders...

How do you get the dedicated climbing rope up there? And why is it 3m shorter than the mast?

I would never use a spinnaker halyard for this. They are usually on a hanging block, rather than on a sheave in the mast, which is much safer.

Good point, it's often the same with the topping lift which isn't designed for much load, but the OP had no suitable halyards at all.

 

[[70521]]

Some years ago I used prusic loops to climb up a halyard, never again, it was easier going up than down, they kept jamming. I thought I was going to get stuck. I was wondering how it would grip a slippery mast.

Prusic loops are designed for ascending not descending, says old climber.