Back from the masthead

[Vega1447]

I installed a (NASA Clipper) wind instrument over the winter when the
boat was on hardstanding and the mast was horizontal.
Unfortunately I didn't mount the instrument high enough and it was in
the lee of the mast on a starboard beam reach.

The vertical spar supporting the instrument needed to be raised as high
as possible to lift the instrument out of the lee.

So, for the first time I persuaded some friends to winch me up. The main
halyard was the lifting halyard and the jib halyard the safety line.

It all went well though my (?75kg) weight was hard work for the wincher.

The Vega was remarkably stable with me at masthead and the work was done
quickly - though I will not soon forget the painful constriction of
crucial parts of my anatomy...

See
http://jkcray.maths.ul.ie/SailingPhotos/VegaRecentWork/tn/MastHead.JPG.html
for a photo.

Seeing the masthead construction close up and personal when rigged was
interesting - to my untrained eye the assembly is very strongly
constructed..

John

V1447 Breakaway

 

[groundhogyh]

John,FYI, because our mast is relatively short, an extension ladder can also be used to get to the top. I used rachet straps and some protective foam pieces to lash the ladder to the mast.
rb

 

[Vega1447]

Hi Roy,
that's interesting - I considered using an extension ladder (could have
borrowed one) but a friend offered to lend me a climber's sling and to
winch me up.

Now I *know* that he was out to give me a bad day..

I'll try an extension ladder if I need to go aloft (while tied up
alongside) again.

Thanks

John

V1447 Breakawaygroundhog wrote:

 

[groundhogyh]

Forgot, use the halyard on the top rung to lift the top of the ladder up.rb

 

[Vega1447]

Yeah, that makes sense.
Assuming it was a 2-part extension ladder, was there any problem
attaching the upper section (supported by halyard) once the lower part
was lashed in place?

(I had to do some work on a spreader last summer and a 4 metre ladder
lashed to the mast got me there.)

John V1447 Breakaway

groundhog wrote:

 

[groundhogyh]

I guess this is a good time to admit my mistake... as much as this hurts, i have to do it.This may be the first time I have been wrong.Well, I thought I was wrong once, but as it turned out, i was mistaken.hee. Anyway, I previously reported that I used my GPS with trails enabled on the display to see how close to the wind I was able to sail. So on my display was the icon for the boat, and little zig-zag trails behind it. The angles on the zig-zags were less than 90 degrees (acute angles), so I concluded that I was sailing closer to the wind than 90 degrees.I was measuring the wrong angle. The angle of the zig-zags is the angle that is measuring how much you are NOT sailing into 90 degree no-go zone in front of the boat.To get the angle you want, you must subtract that from 180 degrees.Graphically, using your GPS, you would sail as close to the wind as possible, tracing out several zig-zags on your screen. Then, you have to mentally move one of the
lines in the zig-zag to create a Vee shape with your boat at the bottom of the Vee and pointing to the direction of the wind. Do this mentally without altering the angle of the moved track. The angle of the Vee is the one you want.So my zig-zag angles were slightly acute, so that means I was actually not sailing within the 90 degree no-sail area, but a bit out of it.rb

 

[groundhogyh]

John,Not sure what you are asking.
My extension ladder was one unit with two pieces that slide along one another. So me and a friend carried the ladder to the boat, attached the halyard to the top, used that to hoist the and manuver the ladder to the position next to the mast. Placed the foam, rachet the straps on, hoist the halyard further to extend the ladder. The ladder locks itself as you extend it. Then placed another rachet strap further up as I climbed.And that's how I did it.roy

 

[pjacobs55]

Brave man, John!
It's nice that the Vega halyards go right through the mast top, so if a sheave pin breaks it would not cause a problem. That's why using the spinnaker halyard is a bad idea.

I also use a ladder, but that's not always convenient. I think a sling like you used, plus a couple of folding mast steps near the top to put your weight on (to ease those painful constrictions), plus a safety belt around the mast, might be a good setup.

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[Vega1447]

Thanks Roy, clear now. John

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie

 

[j.hunter9999]

I used the same method, climbers sling, wife and winch, last summer while rigging the stow-able lazy jacks. It was a little disconcerting, but workable.

Jack

 

[dougpol1]

Back in the day, as they say now! I used to take a halyard heal the
boat in it's slip maybe 10 deg. run the sail up the mast with the
luff fairly loose and climb up the hanks. When I was real young, like
20 we would take someones boat out and with her sailing do the same
thing, make a repair and climb back down. The only thing is you need
really good lacing in your shoes because if wearing sailing moccasins
and one falls off stepping down from there on the sail hanks will kill
your feet. Dougj.hunter9999 wrote:

 

[btfag0s]

My preference is a pair of prusik knots on a halyard; one for feet, one for
a bosun's chair. Another prusik on another halyard is attached to my harness
for safety.

It seems like a lot of string, but the line with the harness is never taking
any weight so it is easy to slide the knots.

I was up just before Christmas replacing the halyards and fixing 'stuff''.
No problems, single handed, felt very secure, lovely view. Alisdair