Is is safe to go aloft while on stands?

David W · Oct 7, 2012

I'd leave it till it is back in the water myself. Why risk it especially since it is out of the water for the winter?

sailaway78 · Oct 7, 2012

My thought

If I wasn't sure enough that I had to ask, I wouldn't go up. And that is not meant to insult. I fell from the spreaders a few years ago, and believe me, you don't ever wanna go there.

Don12364 · Oct 7, 2012

Re: Is is safe too...

If the boat appears to be firm enough that it will not blow over in a gale then there is no reason why you should not go up in a bosun's chair.
Your weight will always be centralised so there will be no additional forces tending to tip it over.
Of course it will feel higher but it is no less safe.
But don't go up in a gale!
And make sure you use a second halyard as a safety line - or use the topping lift to pull through a 1/2" safety rope.

woodster · Oct 7, 2012

Re: Is is safe too...

I used to climb high steel for a living....and in all the years i did that i always took the assumption that it is never safe off the ground...having said that....N&E is correct in his advice.....all those years of climbing and never a mishap.....about 5 years ago i was working on top of my office on some dust collection duct work and it came lose and i fell 8 ft to the concrete floor ...it took me about three months to recover and feel like a human being again.....it would be better to fall off over the water rather than fall on some ones boat next to you on the hard ....so i would take the lesser of two evils in your case...as Stu would say " its your body.... your choice ......"

regards

woody

hugosalt · Oct 7, 2012

Re: Is is safe too...

Am under the impression that most yards (and their insurance companies) will not allow you to climb the mast while on the hard.
Never heard of a yard having a problem with anyone climbing mast
while boat in water.

Fly_H23 · Oct 7, 2012

Flag down a tree trimmer truck with a boom and bucket and get him to lift you and your tools up there. $100 ought to be enough beer money for 5-10 minute lift up your mast. Lots safer for you and your boat.

anchorclanker · Oct 7, 2012

Another way of looking at it is ya wont know till your up there? Once she starts to go over youll have the answer, thats a fact.

I dont think its so much the weight or that its centered, so much as the torque that could be applied at that level. Your talking about an almost 60 foot arm. With 200 pounds of potential force at the top the torque down at the bottom will be enormous. In the water you have the ballast effect of the keel that is not there on land. You also have the suppression the water would give the boat to minor movements, which dampen it. On land you have solid blocks and jacks that, if shocked, could slip and the whole thing could go down before you could say oh $#!t.

You couldnt pay me enough to up there.

seadaddler · Oct 8, 2012

No

When I had my boat on the hard up in NY the yard told me that is not allowed when on the hard.
Nick

Scotian · Oct 8, 2012

My thoughts re a boom truck even if it is just before you launch in Spring

RichH · Oct 8, 2012

The problem is that if the 'leverage moment of recovery' for the boat to restore its neutral stability is restrained and the boat will possibly 'go over' if you exceed this limit. This is a potential functional failure of the boat sitting on its keel and restrained by jackstands. It is a 'dynamic' effect, and if you do go up the mast you must be very careful to NOT induce any side forces especially at the top of the mast. Its all simple trigonometry, leverage, and 'swinging human bodies/mass at the top of the mast.
Most boat yards prohibit going up the mast when a boat is on the hard - and for good reason.
Can you do this? ... of course you can but you go up with large risks involved in that if any thing goes wrong and you induce large side forces at the top of the mast your risk of dumping the boat is greatly enhanced because of the Archimedian "principal of levers". The boat must be supported with jackstands placed at the very widest part of the beam, etc. Absolutely do not go up the mast if the jackstands are placed at 'the turn of the bilge', they must be as far from the keel as possible.
Check with your yard first to see if they allow this.

Don Crowther · Oct 8, 2012

Here's my 2 cents worth. If the boat is secure on the stands/cradle it shouldn't be an issue. Just this past spring while on the hard I had to replace my main halyard. Of course the line I had used to pull the new one though broke. I then had to go up the stick to fish down the new halyard. I reason I did it on the hard was in case things didn't go well I could pull the mast without going though the trouble of pulling the boat out. It almost came to that as it took us 3 hours to fish the halyard out of the bottom of the mast. We ended going up the mast 3 times that weekend. Maybe we were just lucky but the boat never moved and inch.

Ron20324 · Oct 8, 2012

Herrington Harbor does not allow dry climbing. I went up a C22 once on a ladder on the hard to retrieve a lost halyad. Got it done just as the yard worker came to tell me no climbing.

Gudenuph · Oct 8, 2012

Before I would go aloft, I would add stiff legs at the chain plates or tensioned lateral lines from the masthead on both sides to something very solid and be able to keep my weight close to the mast.
FWIW, Geohan

anchorclanker · Oct 8, 2012

No amount of explaining can convince some people why something shouldnt be done, and they will risk life and limb trying to prove people wrong. If they get away with it enough times they may even be able to convince others to follow them. I would compare doing this to Russian roulette. You'll get away without a scratch, until you don't.

If you get the keel to slip or knock a jack loose, there will be no escape. Its not like its going to slowly roll over in slow motion and youll be able to simply let yourself down without harm. Its going to fall over like a giant domino and you'll probably be dead, or worse. If your real lucky it could have a domino effect with the boats along side, and you could knock a whole row over.

arf145 · Oct 8, 2012

Many if not most yards not allowing it should be the clincher. But if I were so tempted, I'd think about what it felt like last time I was up the mast while in the water, and the way small movements are magnified, and how I'd have all that leverage up there and only some jackstands to prevent the boat from going sideways.

Warren Milberg · Oct 8, 2012

Would I go up the mast of my boat on the hard? Never. This is a simple cost-benefit question. Is the possible upside worth the possible downside? Should be an easy answer....

My solution would be to call your local rigging shop, throw a few bucks at the problem, and go home with all your pieces and parts working as normal. Or wait 'til spring and go up when the boat is in the water.

sailaway78 · Oct 8, 2012

What

It all comes down to how much will it cost you to do it when in the water, and how much is your life worth. Like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Most of the time you get away with it. But all it takes is one time.

patrickfarley · Oct 8, 2012

I don't think a bucket truck would even be $100.

I climbed a roof after a sniper once and I would not climb a mast on the hard.(Much younger and stupider then)

Chris Patterson · Oct 8, 2012

In my younger years, I was known for being the nut that would climb anything. Even went to school for rock climbing. Afraid of NOTHING. As the years progress, that mentality slowly slips away. And took some very bad shots in the meantime. About five years ago, my bulletproof dumbass self was running up a pole, and.....slipped. Yepper, 4 broken ribs, punctured lung, ruptured spleen....My God! Two months later, I would just stop, and almost break down crying I was hurt so bad. And I think it's fair to say that I'm not the kind of man to show "hurt". Lesson learned.

About two months ago, I started up the mast, the boat is on the hill, (not a 22, bigger boat), and stopped at the spreaders and thought, "Man, you are an IDIOT"! Down I came.

The moral is, the ground gets harder everyday. It does. I just walked outside and felt of it. It is harder today, than it was yesterday.

Or I just don't bounce as well as I used too...

Is is safe to go aloft while on stands?

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