I climbed the mast on my Catalina 27 to the spreader level. I now need to climb the mast to the very top to replace the anchor light bulb. Can I presume that a C27 is a heavy enough boat for climbing to the top of the mast? How about smaller boats? About what is the cutoff in boat size / keel weight to make climbing to the top of the mast reasonable for a medium size (say 180 lbs) person? Brian Stipak stipakb[at]pdx[dot]edu
Climbing to top of mast on C27's and smaller boats
- Thread starter Brian Stipak
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Climbing to the top
I went to the top of an O'Day 27 a couple of times. It is best if people don't step on and off the boat while you are up there. Other wise you get about a ten ft swing. Paul
I went to the top of an O'Day 27 a couple of times. It is best if people don't step on and off the boat while you are up there. Other wise you get about a ten ft swing. Paul
Small boat mast climbing
Me and the guy's in the C25 fleet used to go to the top all the time. That included the swing keel models also. Seemed pretty stable. There's probably a lot less heeling force with a guy at the top, compared to sailing in 25-knot winds. I guess the lower limit would be a boat with limited enough stability that a heeling force on the sails of 180 lbs. would capsize it. BTW, I saw one guy climb up his C25 mast in a matter of seconds bare handed, no line, nothing. That was pretty impressive.
Me and the guy's in the C25 fleet used to go to the top all the time. That included the swing keel models also. Seemed pretty stable. There's probably a lot less heeling force with a guy at the top, compared to sailing in 25-knot winds. I guess the lower limit would be a boat with limited enough stability that a heeling force on the sails of 180 lbs. would capsize it. BTW, I saw one guy climb up his C25 mast in a matter of seconds bare handed, no line, nothing. That was pretty impressive.
All the time
Well, at least once or twice a year I (200lbs) or someone else goes to the top of the mast on my Cat27. No problem, although you want to do it on a calm day when there's not much traffic on the dock, as it's a little unnerving if the boat's bouncing around. But you won't swing around more than a couple inches if it's quiet when you do it. Hard part in replacing the anchor light bulb is getting your eyes high enough to be able to look down at the socket so you can use a screwdriver to unscrew/screw in the bulb cover, and to the line up the bayonet tabs on the bulb. You need a bosun's chair with short straps, or need to rig it with foot straps about a foot or 18" below the seat so you can stand up in the chair once you get to the top, in order to get high enough. And you'll get a view of your harbor you never knew. Take a camera! Good luck!
Well, at least once or twice a year I (200lbs) or someone else goes to the top of the mast on my Cat27. No problem, although you want to do it on a calm day when there's not much traffic on the dock, as it's a little unnerving if the boat's bouncing around. But you won't swing around more than a couple inches if it's quiet when you do it. Hard part in replacing the anchor light bulb is getting your eyes high enough to be able to look down at the socket so you can use a screwdriver to unscrew/screw in the bulb cover, and to the line up the bayonet tabs on the bulb. You need a bosun's chair with short straps, or need to rig it with foot straps about a foot or 18" below the seat so you can stand up in the chair once you get to the top, in order to get high enough. And you'll get a view of your harbor you never knew. Take a camera! Good luck!
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