bbg
Active member
Yes, always take a camera up.
This is at the top of the rig of a 21 footer.
This is at the top of the rig of a 21 footer.
who has climbed up their mast
- Thread starter mtb
- Start date
Applescruffs
Member
machurley22
New member
It may be easier to do the work with the mast down but it's surely much quicker to go up and down yourself than to unstep and re-step the mast. It certainly is on my 22footer anyway.
wotayottie
New member
The simple answer is not to let them get to that state. On a strange boat I would have a good look round at the general state of maintenance, and I wouldnt risk a boat that is not looked after to my standards. I would also check the state of the halyards and the standing rigging as best I could. Wouldnt go near a boat with external halyards and blocks but its unlikely that failure of a masthead fitting with internal halyards would do more than leave you stuck up there.
I use a spare halyard as a safety line and tie on with bowlines rather than halyard shackles.
Odd thing is I cannot stand anywhere near the edge of a cliff for fear of heights but mast climbing doesnt bother me at all.
wotayottie
New member
Yes, always take a camera up.
This is at the top of the rig of a 21 footer.
Look like fun boats to sail bbg
tudorsailor
Well-known member
I have a painted mast and boom. Last summer it all had to be repainted and various bits of corrosion sorted. I was advised to polish the whole thing at least once a season to keep the new paintwork in top condition. Mast is 20 metres. So on the last trip, polishing was on the list of chores
Although I have electric winches, the story of the wife losing her arm and the husband being severely injured put me off making use of them. So SWMBO hoisted me up using the manual winch at the mast + my pulling myself up. Used spinnaker halyard and then pole-up as a safety. Both tied rather than using the shackles.
Biggest worry was whether I would drop the bottle of Starbrite - which would have made a terrible mess. Even on a still day in the marina, quite a lot of movement when a mobo went past.
I have even greater respect for the Vendee Globe or Volvo RTW racers than I had before.
It was interesting that the higher I went the cleaner the mast was. There was only rear grime in the lower 3 metres.
TudorSailor
Kelpie
Well-known member
Another good point. Don't just clip onto the snap shackle on the end of the spinny halyard! Use a climber's figure of 8 knot, and if you insist on putting some sort of shackle into the mix it should be a screw-gate carabiner.
tudorsailor
Well-known member
Why knot
Why a climbers' figure of 8 instead of a bowline?
TudorSailor
Why a climbers' figure of 8 instead of a bowline?
TudorSailor
bbg
Active member
A climber's figure 8, or a trace figure 8, (particularly if you do a half hitch with the tail) is more secure than a bowline when the line is loose. Bowlines can "shake out" if there is not tension on them.
I have never seen a bowline that has constant tension on it come undone (if it has a decent sized tail) but I have seen them shake out. Still, when I get hoisted up the rig I use a trace figure 8.
prv
Well-known member
I've never heard of a "trace figure 8". How is it different from a normal climber's one?
While we're on the subject of knots, I'm going to want to hang two dedicated climbing lines off the end of my main halyard (one for up, one for down, and the topping lift will take the safety). I want to take up the minimum of vertical space with knots, so that I can climb as high as possible to get at things on the top of the masthead.
What knot should I use to fix two lines (which will be loaded separately) onto the end of one other? My first thought is to do a figure 8 with three strands instead of two, but I can't find any mention of this online and am a bit wary of making up my own unproven knot for such a critical purpose.
(I've already got the two lines, so schemes involving doubling a single long rope not really applicable.)
Cheers,
Pete
lw395
Well-known member
On bigger boats, I find the halyards are often quite stiff and do not knot well.
I use the shackles, but tape them. I make sure I can get the tape off if needed.
On a smaller boat, I'd tape the knot!
For actual climbing, my weight is mostly on a foot step which cleats on a fixed line.
I use the shackles, but tape them. I make sure I can get the tape off if needed.
On a smaller boat, I'd tape the knot!
For actual climbing, my weight is mostly on a foot step which cleats on a fixed line.
bbg
Active member
It's the same thing. I've heard it called a trace figure 8 because you make the figure 8 then "trace" the line back through the knot.
You might want to read through this thread and in particular posts 22 and 42.
prv
Well-known member
Woodlouse
New member
Lots of interesting ideas here. Having been up masts of all sizes between 25 and 170 feet I can say that a bosuns chair attached to a halyard with a bowline and then taken to an electric winch is the only way up. Your going up there to do a job, there's no point in wearing yourself out by climbing and there is no point in hanging in a harness that is trying to cut your legs off. You want to be comfortable.
There's nothing wrong with the double figure of eight, but compared to a bowline it takes an age to tie and it's only real benefit is that it won't shake out if there is no load on the rope, but since you'll be hanging off the rope it's not likely to be slack until your feet are back on deck.
There's nothing wrong with the double figure of eight, but compared to a bowline it takes an age to tie and it's only real benefit is that it won't shake out if there is no load on the rope, but since you'll be hanging off the rope it's not likely to be slack until your feet are back on deck.
Pye_End
Well-known member
I tend to use a bowline and then shackle the tail to the chair, bus making it impossible to undo itself.
Kelpie
Well-known member
I've seen a bowline come undone- in a very new length of rope which I was using as a genoa sheet for a Wayfarer. Combination of stiffness and slipperiness. It came loose three times in a row before we eventually got it secure by leaving a very long tail and putting extra hitches into it.
I wouldn't say an electric winch is 'the only way' to go up a mast. Maybe on a 170ft boat, but not on your average cruising yacht.
One thing I've realised from this thread is that my boat actually has an extremely good mast design for climbing. The halyards are external, allowing much easier climbing, but pass right through the mast, so there is no risk of blocks failing.
I'd imagine that if you had internal halyards, the climbing would be much harder.
I wouldn't say an electric winch is 'the only way' to go up a mast. Maybe on a 170ft boat, but not on your average cruising yacht.
One thing I've realised from this thread is that my boat actually has an extremely good mast design for climbing. The halyards are external, allowing much easier climbing, but pass right through the mast, so there is no risk of blocks failing.
I'd imagine that if you had internal halyards, the climbing would be much harder.
Woodlouse
New member
A long tail on a bowline is generally a good idea and an extra hitch can make one feel more secure. As someone mentioned before if the halyard has a shackle in the end then you can clip that around the rope as well for extra security and it prevents the shackle from smacking you. It's still quicker than tying a double figure of eight.
As for the leccy winches, if you've got 'em then I think you'd be mad not to use them for hoisting someone. I wouldn't use the self tailer though and I do like to be made off onto cleats rather than with capstan hitches. You get quite particular about some of these things when you're not overly fond of hight's.
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
Isn't the concern about electric winches the possibility of them continuing to pull when someone has got caught, and ripping an arm or similar off? I ask for information - I don't have electric winches.
Woodlouse
New member
It's rather a rare occurrence that, but it is one of the reasons for not using self tailer's since you can let the drum slip without it hauling the line if controlling the tension on the tail end by hand. Then someone can hit the breaker, or if no one is available then the chap up the mast can have time to take his own weight for a moment whilst you transfer the line off the winch.
Powered winches are used every day to haul people up masts on thousands of large yachts and accidents are so rare as to be almost unheard of. It's not like everyone involved is a trained professional either, you get some right incompetent apes sometimes and with some very basic pointers even they struggle to ***** up.