Working up the Mast

alisdair4

alisdair4

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midnightdrifter.net
I'm not sure if this sounds daft, but bear with me! If I need to work up the mast, I wear a bosun's chair, attached to the spare genoa halliard and a safety line, in my case the spinaaker halliard, attached to my normal safety harness. Problem is that SWMBO, having only 2 arms, /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif cannot pull up both halliards at once. If I attach the tail of the safety line to my harness, so that I am essentially part of a loop under slight tension (the spinaaker halliard goes through a turning block at the base of the mast), will there be sufficient friction to prevent a dangerous fall in the event of failure of the primary halliard? As I said, it sounds a bit daft -will it work?
 
Errrm.

Wind up the chair- a foot or so- then take up the slack on the clutch on the spinnaker halyard for protection .

Repeat the process, so that at no time is one halyard without a back-up. Then there is no problem

Coming down- let off the spinnaker halyard a foot or so then lower the chair until the two combine; start all over again until deck level .

Have I missed something important here?? Don't see a problem
 
You pull on the main halliard & you will only be lifting half your weight. SWMBO to tail off both halliards as you go. She can do this on each one alternatively so that, if it all goes wrong you will only slip as far as the last rope cleated off safely.

Alternatively send up a young grandchild as they are small, light & easily replaced. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Image008.jpg
 
My approach is to:
1. Test the halliards first!
2. Basically trust the halliard I'm being winched on.
3. Stop every metre or two to take up the second halliard.
4 Climb as much as possible to reduce winching.
The above assumes not using Petzl ascenders, to which I'm firmly converted now.
I don't rate your proposed system I'm afraid. You could put in enough friction with a turn on a winch, but a controlled descent could be difficult.
I'd also advocate a third person if at all possible, it only costs a beer!
A climbers harness is also a good investment imho. You ought to be able to borrow one, but some of us don't like lending out critical gear.
Take care, and do a trial descent from 3 foot up, this will convince swmbo that you are a prudent sort of chap!
This is all vague general advice. please think through the details with your own kit etc, people on the forum can only offer an opinion based on their own experience!
 
er .. is that grandchild actually attached to the ancient bosun's chair? Cor Social Services will be round pronto and you'll be in the clink with the Dewsbury Five.

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Simple method is to use a prussik loop attached to the cleated off safety halyard. You slide it up as you ascend leaving SWMBO to grind the winch.
 
With an external halyard, pulled by the moving load as it were , the velocity ratio is indeed 2:1, as both the line from the load to the masthead and from the masthead back to the load are shortened. Same as the load on the mast head sheave is normally twice the tension in the halyard...
 
Use a piece of climbing gear called an ascender and you can look after your own safety line once you have secured it. If they are thick enough you could even use the shrouds as a safety line at a push but rope is better than wire.

You slide the ascender up (or down) the safety line and when you let it go it locks onto the line. The ascender would be attached to your harness by a short lenght of rope.

Works well for me, the only difference is we use the windlass as I can find better ways to wear swmbo out.
 
Oh! blimey, now you've done it Searush. My Grandson's a Corporal with 2 Para 'an he want's a word with you,'ol kiddie /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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Oh! blimey, now you've done it Searush. My Grandson's a Corporal with 2 Para 'an he want's a word with you,'ol kiddie /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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Just the man to do mast head work then. Get 'im sorted!
 
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You pull on the main halliard & you will only be lifting half your weight...

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I think not. The mechanical advantage of a single fixed pulley is unity.

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/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif And when did you fail physics O-level! That is only true if load & hoister are two different points. Apply brain before replying! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
er .. is that grandchild actually attached to the ancient bosun's chair? Cor Social Services will be round pronto and you'll be in the clink with the Dewsbury Five.

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Yup, her bum is firmly attached - even firmly clenched I suspect. Do you tie 10 year olds to swings then? What about the loo, do you need tying on that too?

She kept asking to go up, but wouldn't go any higher than in that pic (actually only about 5' off deck). We tried hoisting her a little higher as a tease, but my ears started to bleed with the noise levels she produced.

Incidentally, chair is not that old, but it is home made, & I had just been up to spreaders on it. I am probably about 7x her weight.
 
If you insist on using such an archaic and inefficient method of mast climbing /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif , then the easy way of protecting yourself is with a prussic knot on the backup halyard, as has been mentioned.

If you don't mind spending, then there is a device called a Shunt which does the same job as an ascender, but can be slid down the rope as you descend and still provide protection.
 
Over the years I have gone from using a back-up to now not using one at all. Personally think the risk of a halyard failing with <100kgs on it is really quite small.

I do do a visual inspection of the condition of the rope and only use proper knots (rather than shackles) to attach the bosuns chair/climbing harness.
 
I have been up the mast three times this year to repair a Furuno Radome.

Advice is to get a mast ladder.

My strategy is to climb up the mast ladder, wearing a Bosuns chair. The modom keeps the bosun chair (spinni halyard) reasonably tight. I usually am ahead of her.

When I reach the bloomin Radome for the third time this year, she is able to tie off the spinni halyard, and I can relax to do the task.

Tip. I also wear a safety strap which I wrap around the radome platform, this gives even more confidence after I suspect the SWMBO has recenrtly upped my life insurance!!!!!

Seriously, The mast ladder is terriffic, but really do recommend a safety line as well.

But make sure the modom knows how to release the spinni halyard!!!

Good luck

Mj
 
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