ATN mast climber tip please.

[SycloneDriver]

I purchased a mast climber last year when I caught it on sale. I climbed to about 6 or 8 feet above the deck a few months ago, just to try it out. Today I was going to attempt to replace the wind indicator at the top of that mast. By the time I almost reached the spreaders I was exhausted.

I was climbing the topping lift that I moved to a chain plate. I was constantly struggling to stay upright. This was probably a mistake. I can probably move the attachment point to the vang at the bottom of the mast.

I'm quite fearful of heights and I thought that would be the issue. I never felt unsafe, just exhausted.

Any suggestions?

 

[jssailem]

Securing the halyard you plan to use to climb is critical.
Any climbing system is going to require a certain level of fitness.

The ATN uses the legs more than the upper body. Still it will be tiring and does require practice.

 

[Tally Ho]

As @jssailem said, it is really about using your legs to move up the rope, then sit in the chair (it is easy to lean back….you need to keep your legs down and body forward). The footloops can be joined near the bottom, and you can put 1 foot on either side of the mast with the strap holding your feet close to the mast.

Also as noted, the line you are climbing should be fairly tight. I secure my main halyard (cause it is my best line) at the base of my mast, then tighten it on a winch.

in the end, it does take some practice to get the technique down.

The problem I have with the older Mast Climber was that you had to feed the line through the ascender, so you couldn’t use a line with a shackle on it. I had to use an old halyard, tied to my newer halyard, and raised it that up the mast.

I think the newer ones use an ascender that will go over the rope (like a modern ascender).

I made my own, with 2 Petzl ascenders, a few carabiners, a climbing harness and some foot loops.

Greg

 

[jaysweet]

I purchased a mast climber last year when I caught it on sale. I climbed to about 6 or 8 feet above the deck a few months ago, just to try it out. Today I was going to attempt to replace the wind indicator at the top of that mast. By the time I almost reached the spreaders I was exhausted.

I was climbing the topping lift that I moved to a chain plate. I was constantly struggling to stay upright. This was probably a mistake. I can probably move the attachment point to the vang at the bottom of the mast.

I'm quite fearful of heights and I thought that would be the issue. I never felt unsafe, just exhausted.

Any suggestions?

I have one of these from ca. 2008 or so. I remove the shackle from the end of the main halyard and tie the main halyard to the rope that came with the TopClimber using a fancy approved climbing knot whose name I don't recall and might not swear was correct even if I could. I then haul the Topclimber rope up to the top of the mast and tie the bottom of the TC rope off to to boom around 3' back from the mast, so I can tension the whole thing properly by using a winch on the halyard. I climb up on the boom and use the jib halyard as a safety line. So a partner is keeping the jib halyard taut, running it to a winch as I climb. I then climb up on top of the boom and climb the static line as the safety line is kept sort of taut by my partner. I also carry up a light line tied off to my harness to haul up tools as needed if I forgot something.

I think it's kind of important to keep the main halyard and the TC rope very taut, and away from the mast, which helps you keep your @#$% together as you climb. Yes, it's kind of strenuous, and I wish I were 20. But take your time, and it's not too bad. The biggest problem with the ATN TC as I use it is that it's hard to get really close to the top of the mast b/c the jumar/ascender is so high above you. But it works reasonably well.

 

[SycloneDriver]

Thanks guys. I'll try relocating the line from the chain plate to the base of the mast. I'll put a little more tension on it too. Maybe switch to light beer.

 

[dLj]

Got pictures of how you set it up? Are you using a bosuns chair?

Here's a picture of a friend of mine working at his mast head with a pair of ATN climbers - notice the bosuns chair and where the top ATN climber is located. You can't see the bottom climber in this picture, but you can see straps on his right foot.

dj

 

[SycloneDriver]

Got pictures of how you set it up? Are you using a bosuns chair?

Here's a picture of a friend of mine working at his mast head with a pair of ATN climbers - notice the bosuns chair and where the top ATN climber is located. You can't see the bottom climber in this picture, but you can see straps on his right foot.

dj

Sorry, no pictures. I only used the equipment that came with the climber, seat, foot straps and two clutch/assinder.

 

[dLj]

Sorry, no pictures. I only used the equipment that came with the climber, seat, foot straps and two clutch/assinder.

I don't know what bosuns chair is sent with the climber, I use a Harkin that is a very good chair. The line you are going up on should be attached to the base of the mast making a line running from the bottom (more or less) to the top of the mast. The tension on this line needs to be "about right" - that's kind of dependent upon what you have to get around on your way up. It's neither really tight nor loose. When you have things adjusted correctly, you can be simply sitting in that bosuns chair quite comfortably.

dj

 

[SycloneDriver]

I think the key is going to be moving the line attachment point to the base of the mast. I spent too much effort just trying to stay upright. I also think the line may have stretched a little as I was hanging on it, releasing some of the tension. The topping lift line is old and never has much tension on it in normal use.

 

[dLj]

I think the key is going to be moving the line attachment point to the base of the mast. I spent too much effort just trying to stay upright. I also think the line may have stretched a little as I was hanging on it, releasing some of the tension. The topping lift line is old and never has much tension on it in normal use.

Let us know how it works out.

dj

 

[SycloneDriver]

Let us know how it works out.

dj

Will do.

 

[Tally Ho]

Keep the rope tight, and parallel to the mast.

Use the mast to keep your feet from kicking too far in front of you.

Greg

 

[Justin_NSA]

You found it in sale?! I want one! My slip neighbor is in his mid70s and uses one. He even went to the top of my mast - wouldn't let me go up.

 

[Tally Ho]

You found it in sale?! I want one! My slip neighbor is in his mid70s and uses one. He even went to the top of my mast - wouldn't let me go up.

A friend of mine has one…lent it to me. But I made my own.
I think he wants $150 for it. It is the older version with the ascenders that require you to feed the rope through the ascender.

if anyone is interested, I can connect you to the seller.

Greg

 

[dLj]

A friend of mine has one…lent it to me. But I made my own.
I think he wants $150 for it. It is the older version with the ascenders that require you to feed the rope through the ascender.

if anyone is interested, I can connect you to the seller.

Greg

Not sure I'd want an old style ascender for two reasons 1) they are old. 2) being able to get the line tensioned and then just put on the ascenders is quite nice.

dj

 

[SycloneDriver]

I got mine from Defender. I found it on sale, but I didn't order it on time. About a month later it was back on sale, I ordered it right away.

 

[Ken13559]

I saw the video from Top Climber and thought that was a great tools to have onboard. It was really very easy to use...that is until I do the top climbing. Boy! was that a real mistake!! I was flat out bushed at just about 15 feet off the deck. I'm not gonna make for the next 20 feet. Now hoping to get a buyer for the Top Climber.

 

[SycloneDriver]

I never did climb the mast but a friend of mine did. He is in good shape but it was still a workout. He replaced my old/broken wind indicator. I haven't had a working wind indicator in so long that I forget to use it.