Mast Steps

[TiggerToo]

Does anyone have foldable mast steps on their boat? If yes, what type do you have and are you satisfied with them?

If you have experience with different sorts, which do you think works best?

What distance would you recommend between steps?

 

[dunedin]

May depend on what you are trying to do with your mast steps - reach up to a high boom to put the sail cover on / connect halyard, or to reach the masthead.

We have 4 of these foldable composite mast steps for the former purpose, and been great so far Mast Step Composite Folding Step - €21.50 (inc. VAT) - bluemarinestore.com

 

[TiggerToo]

Reach the masthead and do occasional work up there

 

[Boathook]

May depend on what you are trying to do with your mast steps - reach up to a high boom to put the sail cover on / connect halyard, or to reach the masthead.

We have 4 of these foldable composite mast steps for the former purpose, and been great so far Mast Step Composite Folding Step - €21.50 (inc. VAT) - bluemarinestore.com

I fitted 2 of the same at the top of my mast, same height either side. Only used them a couple of times so, far but the do the job. Height from the top of the mast took me a while to settle on but they are roughly at waist level.
If you are putting them all the way up the mast they can be staggered either side and I suspect around each step should lift you around 12 inches, so on the same side they would be 2 feet apart. Might be good idea to find a boat and owner with mast steps and try them.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have the same type of folding steps all the way up my mast and 2 at the same level at the top

I would not be able to climb the mast without them and one of the best pieces of equipment on my boat.

I am 73 years of age and I have positioned the steps a little closer than some recommend

I do have a rest at spreader level

One advantage is that you can climb up either the front and aft side depending what you need to do.

Some use steps the slide up the sail track but in my case I would need to remobe my sail from the track first. Also the track on the front of my mast does not go all the way to the top.

 

[NormanS]

I have a ketch. I made steps for the mizzen, but bought stainless steel folding ones from Force 4 for the main. On balance, I prefer the look of the folding ones, mainly when they are folded in. The fixed ones are easy, and available to use without any preparation. Obviously the folding ones have to be folded out when going up, and folded in again, when coming down. Sometimes they are stiff to fold out, and need to be hit with something, to start the folding out process.
When fitting steps the initial datum point has to be the upper face of the spreaders. I spaced mine at half a metre, but if I was doing it again, I would put them at no more than 450mm. It depends on the length of your legs. It's worth fitting a pair at the mast head, to make it convenient to work on all the gubbins there.

 

[vic008]

Fixed ones can be handy to hook halyard around at anchor to keep quiet

 

[howardclark]

Those composite ones look OK. Mine are same design but metal. Careful not to get the ones with a serrated edge which dig into your feet as you climb. Those are very uncomfortable

 

[dansaskip]

I couldn't be bothered with the faff of having to unfold on the way up and then fold up steps on the way down. Fixed steps so much easier to use and more secure since you foot can't slip off them sideways. Used Selden ones myself and I believe there is some spacing recommendation on the Selden site..

 

[mattonthesea]

Fixed steps are very good for getting the halyard caught around above the spreaders.

Luckily I had mast steps to go and untangle; and to form barrier of mousing line tied to them and around the stays ?.

 

[Mataji]

Steps are great for quick jobs, tangles or lost halyards etc but for anything that requires working at the top of the mast you can’t beat the old bosuns chair. I once had to replace the cups for the anemometer, turned into a fiddly job and after a few minutes my legs ached like hell. In order to use both hands I had a rope round my waist and round the mast but unless you can hug the mast with one arm you are leaning back a bit and this puts extra strain on your legs. Doing it from a bosuns chair is a doddle.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Steps are great for quick jobs, tangles or lost halyards etc but for anything that requires working at the top of the mast you can’t beat the old bosuns chair. I once had to replace the cups for the anemometer, turned into a fiddly job and after a few minutes my legs ached like hell. In order to use both hands I had a rope round my waist and round the mast but unless you can hug the mast with one arm you are leaning back a bit and this puts extra strain on your legs. Doing it from a bosuns chair is a doddle.

I use a bosun's chair when I climb the mast using the mast steps tailed by SWMBO at the bottom of the mast as cleated off when I get to working height.

This allows climbing easy and working 2 handed at any point.

Coming down SWMBO just lowers me down tailing the mast winch.

 

[NormanS]

Steps are great for quick jobs, tangles or lost halyards etc but for anything that requires working at the top of the mast you can’t beat the old bosuns chair. I once had to replace the cups for the anemometer, turned into a fiddly job and after a few minutes my legs ached like hell. In order to use both hands I had a rope round my waist and round the mast but unless you can hug the mast with one arm you are leaning back a bit and this puts extra strain on your legs. Doing it from a bosuns chair is a doddle.

I would have thought it obvious that if going up the mast to do a job, you would use a bosun's chair, but having steps means that you can get up there, without someone having to hoist you up. That's what I do anyway. I am always protected by a halyard tended to by my wife.

 

[pcatterall]

We just have 2 folders at the top for working from. Climbing now by using ascender and a 'foot board' . The steps help to stop the swinging around while in harness or bosuns chair. The crew just concentrate on the safety line.
Starting to consider steps all the way up now ( as I approach 80) . I have wondered if the fixed triangular ones are LESS likely to foul lines than the folders which still stick out a fair bit?

 

[NormanS]

We just have 2 folders at the top for working from. Climbing now by using ascender and a 'foot board' . The steps help to stop the swinging around while in harness or bosuns chair. The crew just concentrate on the safety line.
Starting to consider steps all the way up now ( as I approach 80) . I have wondered if the fixed triangular ones are LESS likely to foul lines than the folders which still stick out a fair bit?

You raise a valid point. The way that the folding step are designed, it is possible to get a very thin line trapped and be difficult to clear. The fixed ones are probably more susceptible to catching lines, but easier to clear. As all my halyards except the mizzen, are internal, I don't have that problem. People who have fixed steps, and experience problems with halyards catching, usually rig vertical lines joining the outer extremities of the steps, so that there is nothing to catch.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have folding steps and find that if the are all folded I don't get halyard wrap. If I forget to fold any on the way down the next day I have halyards wrapped.

I have both internal and external halyards and all 12 mm

 

[Sgeir]

Good thread. We were both both rock climbers in our younger days, and I was also a pole climbing PO engineer in a previous career.

Previously, Mme S was hauled up the mast for maintenance purposes (the boat's, not her's), but nowadays, in our 70s, there is no way that either of us would attempt a mast climb without steps.

Been thinking about this for a couple of years, but only put it off on the grounds of initial cost. However, the cost of mast removal or paying for a rigger probably outweighs that......

 

[Blueboatman]

Well I have them and really rate them if only for doing an annual rig inspection .
Mine are “ older” and although folding, create a captive space for the foot -obv, it would be crazy not to also be wearing a harness and jammer arrangement on a halyard as, slipping off whilst a foot is trapped in the captive space ... not good

I would agree the positioning of the top two is important ergonomics if you want to be able to work ‘’ looking down” on the masthead actually using both hands..

Also think about getting on to them at the bottom ! Some booms/stack packs are quite high off the deck and placing a foot on a handy mast winch is not best practise ..

Things I have done : changed out bulbs , checked masthead sheaves , replaced windex, new led tricolour . Changed all standing rigging in pairs ( nice kerching saving that one )
Retrieved lost halyard . Cleaned mast ,fitted ‘ improved’ lazyjacks. All over a decade of use , well worth it IMO ..

 

[Graham_Wright]

If you use fixed steps, make sure the supporting part is underneath. There has been a really nasty case of someone falling backwards (reason not established in the inquest) and having his feet trapped in the triangle. He hung there until his ankles snapped and then fell to his death on the deck. Horrible way to go. If the support is underneath, this cannot happen but you do need an upstand at the outer end to avoid your foot slipping off.

There is a much better way of ascending the mast but I will leave you to guess. At 80+ it now takes me three minutes to reach the top of my 42' mast against the two a year ago.

 

[NormanS]

If you use fixed steps, make sure the supporting part is underneath. There has been a really nasty case of someone falling backwards (reason not established in the inquest) and having his feet trapped in the triangle. He hung there until his ankles snapped and then fell to his death on the deck. Horrible way to go. If the support is underneath, this cannot happen but you do need an upstand at the outer end to avoid your foot slipping off.

There is a much better way of ascending the mast but I will leave you to guess. At 80+ it now takes me three minutes to reach the top of my 42' mast against the two a year ago.

This (one) really nasty case to which you refer, was a death caused by some misguided soul going up a mast with presumably no protection whatsoever. If his feet hadn't caught in the steps, he would have fallen straight to the deck, and died anyway.
Having the attachment point above the step, as are most, automatically ensures that the climber's feet cannot slip off the step, and also means that the upper fastening is contributing to the total attachment. If it is under the step, it is only in compression. I understand the point you are making, but has it ever happened either before is since the occasion to which you allude?