Going Aloft

[ITMaster]

I haven't seen much in the forums about the safe use of a bosun's chair and going top side for maintenance and or repairs. Don't see much written on the subject either. Would be interesting to see a discussion of all aspects of this topic. I am sure that there are lots of outrageous stories with lots of humor on it as well as some serious and dangerous consequenses.

 

[Trevor - SailboatOwners.c]

Brion Toss

Going aloft is a necessary part of maintenance that sailors often neglect. Brion Toss covers all aspects of going aloft, from safety, types of climbing rigs, and useful tools, in his book Rigger's Apprentice. Great book to have in any sailor's library.Best,Trevor

 

[Rob]

another one for Brion Toss

My wife thinks hes medicated as he speaks with a slow thoughfull purpose. We have going aloft video...great learner!...ill be going up this weekend if the weather holds.We were struck by lightning last year and I have a new Wind vane, wendex, vhf antena, tv antena, mast head light and anchor light to replace...probably go up a few times.i have a climbing harness, with 2 acenders from a mouintain climbing web site..inchworm style....along with a repelling horn. for coming down...my wife belays me with the main halyard and I use a seperate haylard for my assecnt...allways double every connection and halyard,,safety..safety..safety....

 

[Alan]

Safety first

Bosuns chairs are a terrible idea for going aloft. One mistake and.......well you know, it's not the fall, it's the sudden stop.I ALWAYS use a climbing harness. Even if your knocked unconsious up there, you will not fall.

 

[Steve Christensen]

Up The Mast

Here's a link to an article I wrote for Good Old Boat magazine on techniques for going aloft. I highly recommend using a harness, NOT a bosuns chair.Steve Christensen

 

[abe]

240lbs, and scared of heights... no way

I am a coward. I bought TopClimber about a month ago... thinking sooner or later I have to get up there. Well, when the day came, I did not even have the courage to take it out of the package. Oh, the shame, I even tried to encourage my wife or son to do the dirty work to no avail. I returned it to WestMarine. No one laughted at me, lots of support for doing a wise thing. I guess I will never be a bluewater sailor and I will always have to pay someone to go up there.abe

 

[Kevin]

Stories?!

OK, here's a story for you. When I was a youngster (about 21), I was on a friend's boat anchored off and playing backgammon. A very bad thunderstorm was coming from behind us (as they are wont to do on Lake Pontchartrain) and we did not notice it until we suddenly felt that cold gust of air that comes right before the storm. We turned around to see it bearing down on us. Don't you know it, the engine would not start. I went to raise the main and the halyard came loose and went all the way to the top of the mast. (30 footer) With no engine and a storm bearing down on us we needed the main, not the jenny that was already on the foresail. With the winds kicking up and the seas starting to roll, I shinnied up the mast to the top (rocking back way and forth over the water in both directions, accentuated by my weight up there). I took the line in my teeth ( a chip in one to this day) and came down the mast to get the main back up. A little while later we got the engine to start and all was well. And yes, I have learned quite a bit since then.

 

[Phiggins]

Lost the boat.

I read a book, Dangerous Waters by David Philpott, who was sailing his Nonsuch 30 around the world alone. He made it to the middle of the Atlantic between Africa and South America where he got hit by a terrific storm. His halyard got tangled up at the top of the mast where he couldn't retrieve it. He drifted for over a month until he was down to his last food and water. Finally he was rescued by a passing freighter but had to abandon the boat.After reading that I decided I would always be able to get to the top of the mast. So I put in mast steps. I know they're ugly but they sure make it easy going aloft. For safety I also use a safety harness with climbing ascender attached to the spare halyard.

 

[Alex]

Bosuns chair vs Climbing Harness

As you have seen there are a good number of publications that give great advice.As an additional Safety (and comfort) tip from "Uncle Alex", I use both at the same time on seperate halyards. I find that the Bosuns chair is super comfortable for going up vs the harness due to the "Groin pain inflicter straps" on the harness.I wear my climbing harness and have it secured to my backup safety line because if I do manage to get out of the bosuns chair I trust the harness to save me from the 40 thrill ride to the stancion impalement.PS one of our dock neighbor just fell from the firat set of spreaders on his Catalina 34 about three months ago. Lucky to have not killed himself but the shrouds left some very nastey imprinted along his cheek. Never mind the bruises.

 

[Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO]

Safe Bosun's Chair

There's a simple way to use a bosun's chair safely. When I use the chair I always wear my safety harness (the thing you wear when you hook onto the jack lines) and attach it to the same locking carabiner as the chair. I also use a figure 8 descender/rapelling device on the other halyard as my safety link when there is nobody around to belay me. By the way, standing in a sling when using the ascenders (Jumars to the climbers) while wearing soft and sloppy old boat shoes will be murder on your feet. A piece of 1" PVC pipe over the line for a foot rest will make life a lot more comfortable. If you're up to a bowline on a bight, a two foot step is easy to make with two pieces of PVC pipe. Also note that the offshore safety rules require crotch starps on your harness which the manufacturers almost never include.

 

[Sanders LaMont]

six-pack option

I have one other suggestion, but first have to give Steve credit for the link to an excellent article which covers virtually all the options, with safety pros and cons included.The "six-pack option" is when you, or possibly your wife or grown daughter, stand around looking at the top of the mast with a concerned expression until some well-muscled twenty-something-fellow who crews a lot and loves to climb masts comes along. Looking pathetically inept, easy in my case, always helps.On my dock they almost always offer to help for nothing, but a six pack of good beer afterwards will make you a new friend. You can help him sand and varnish at a later date.Sanders

 

[PHitchcox]

TopClimber

I'll put a vote in for a TopClimber; seemingly a safe approach to ascending, and can be done alone (though not without an audience, of couse).If you do have to work at the top of the mast, which can be precarious, the TopClimber is one of the only ways to actually get above the masthead. You can stand, once all is properly connected, with the top of the mast at your chest. And do so safely I think. Far easier to check wayward halyards.I've also seen several references to broken wind transducers, some lost on the hard in the off season (e.g. from snow in the northeast). If going up the mast is a big deal that requires a committee, you probably won't have the opportunity to take your transducer down at the end of the season. With a TopClimber, it doesn't take much to go up the mast and retrieve the transducer for safe storage.Just a couple of thoughts.Paul

 

[Mark7500]

Bosun's chair solo

I guess I'm always trying to do things by myself so I rigged a self-climber (really a self-puller) for going up the mast. I used 200' of 1/2" anchor line, a bosun's chair (and a separate harness), five spare blocks and a cam cleat. I attached the three blocks to the end of the spinnaker halyard and the other two blocks to the bosun's chair. I ran the line through the blocks for a ?5:1 purchase and then back to the bosun's chair and through a fairlead on the cam cleat. The cam cleat was attached to the chair below and the lower set of blocks above (I mounted the cam cleat on a leftover piece of 1/2 fiberglassed plywood). It was fairly simple and easy to lift myself in this manner after the spinnaker halyard was lifted to the top of the mast. I used a separate 1/2 inch line attached to the main halyard (also raised up) to tie to the harness as I went up so the most I could fall if the block/tackle failed would be about 5-8 feet. It worked well and I felt relatively safe. I got down by sort of slow rappelling.Cheers

 

[Ed Hanley14076]

I'm surprised not to find at least one other recommendation for a simple ladder. My wife sewed one up in a few hours: Three lengths of webbing with rungs sewed at about 18" staggered intervals each side, giving 9" step heights. Rungs have a piece of garden hose threaded on before sewing the second end. Webbing verticals brought to a single ring at top. Tie downs at bottom. Rungs at same height at standing location near top. If I am going to be awhile, I hoist the bos'ns chair and belay it, then climb with a tether around the mast, and squirm into the chair when I get there. My topping lift is rigged like another halyard for tool bag, etc. This set-up makes you completely independent of other help, though it is well to have someone standing by just in case.

 

[Liam]

Dangerous Waters- Nonsuch30

With regard to the story about Philpott stranded on his Nonsuch 30... those boats have only one halyard and no stays or shrouds. Even motivated by starvation there is no way to the top. In fact, I know "professional riggers" who will not go to the top of those boats even with a halyard and a chair. The mast is an aluminum telephone pole at the bottom and an aluminum noodle at the top. Scary stuff!

 

[Rick D]

I Don't Understand ...

... are you saying some riggers will not go up an unstayed mast? How come? I sure had a few up mine <smile> Rick D.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Rick, I think he's pointing out the 'single

halyard' lack of a safety back-up on the Nonsuch, not the lack of stays.

 

[Dragonfly]

Mast Mate

Several sailor have Mast Mate. http://www.mastmate.com/It seems to work well. They wear a harness with safetly line with going aloft.

 

[Jonathan]

I'll buy it!

Abe, from the Channel Islands, how much do you want for your "Top Climber"? Reply here, or email me: jonathan.mercer2@verizon.net.Here's a tip from my tree-working, rapelling days: never trust just one rope, one belayer, or one hand.I was being belayed while topping a tree, and my brother was using only one hand to hold the rope. While looking up at me, he didn't see the end of the line approaching as he lowered me, and it shot through his hand (that's why you use two), and I dropped the final 20 feet onto a previously felled tree. Broke my heel, knocked the breath out of me, and I thought I'd broken my back.The climbing harness for safety, with the bosun's chair for comfort sounds good, but each should have its own line, and be worked seperately. If they're harnessed together, and that one line should part, down you go, plus, if you slip out of the chair, the line on your harness can help hoist you back in.Great link to GOB.

 

[Bob]

Early times

In the late 60s a buddy and I were doing some rock climbing on a formation along the James River. It was a hot summer day, and after reaching the summit we rapelled off, using what was then a pretty standard technique of braking: the rope passed through a carabiner at the waist, over the left shoulder, and was frictioned against one's back with the right hand. After we had reached the bottom of our rapell, we noticed a large hornets' nest just to the right of where we had come down. I have often wondered what would have happened if we had decided to descend a few feet to the right of where we started - putting a boot through the nest would have made things interesting, to say the least, and I wonder how tough it would have been to keep the brake hand on the rope with 20 or 30 motivated hornets attacking.