Going up the mast for the first time on a new (old) sailboat with in mast furling main

[miraculix]

Hi all, There is always a first time and for me it will be the first time that I have to go up the mast. Our windex stopped working and is only showing one wind direction.
Time to get up to the masttop and fix the problem. The only question is how and using what.
Our boat, a Beneteau Oceanis 40 which we bought last year, is meanwhile 13 years old and so are the halyards. Complicating is the fact that we have a furling main, so no main halyard that can easily be used for climbing the mast. We do have a Spinnaker halyard that could be used but that is only one line and there would not be a safety. Also I would like to use the yacht mast ladder from Kinleven Marine and that must be used on the side of the mast where the slot for the sail is.
I am going to get a new Spinnaker halyard, that could be my safety line. The other option would be using the topping lift, certainly after installing a new one with the propper load rating, but what to do with the boom? I guess I could lower the boom on the deck? No clue how heavy the boom is.
Any other thoughts ?
Last weekend I saw a guy in a bosun's chair going up a mast without any additional safety, about 55 - 60 feet mast on an older boat. The winch made awful sounds under the load. That just reinforced my thought that I don't want to do it like this. In addition, with a mast ladder I can go up the mast without any assistance. Only real downside I see so far, the system is somewhat pricey. What is the price for safety.

Thanks
Christoph

 

[sail sfbay]

Same question came up on this thread: (3) Time to go up the mast | Sailboat Owners Forums . Tie-off the spare spinnaker halyard to the bosuns chair with a helper at taking up slack and securing it the deck winch cleat AND tie-off the topping lift to your harness as a safety line with a helper taking slack up and securing to horn cleat. The boom vang will support the boom with the topping lift disconnected from the end. Recommend replacing the 13 year spinnaker halyard and topping with low stretch, high breaking strength line BEFORE you climb the mast.

How do you hoist the yacht mast ladder from Kinleven Marine? With a spare or dedicated halyard? Another option, is a Swiss Tech Mastlift (1) SwissTech Mastlift - Bing video and (1) SwissTech Führungsrolle - Bing video , which does not require a second spare halyard. You secure the spare spinnaker halyard to the Mastlift drum, hoist it to the top of the mast, secure its drum cable to your bosuns chair then you can climb the mast with 10:1 purchase with one hand pulling on the drum's continuous line to go up and down the mast without assistance at the deck winch. Still have a helper taking up slack on the safety line and securing it on a horn cleat. But beware, if other sailboat owners see how easy it is to use the Mastlift you will be loaning for their mast climbing OR at the vary least request you climb their mast with it.......might want to charge them or at least get beer for loaning it.

 

[jeepbluetj]

If your spin halyard is on a crane (sheeve hanging out in front of the mast) I would never use it for any climbing purpose. If that sheeve or bolt breaks, it all comes down. For a main/jib halyard if the same stuff breaks, it gets stuck at the top of the mast - much safer.

You will need a luff groove to use a ladder (I have a mast mate, and I hate it. ) Most furling masts have one next to the slot.

I cannot imagine you don't have a main halyard - it's holding the main up. Same with your jib halyard. Not all that tough to unfurl the sail and drop it. (Main will be more complex than the jib.)

And I don't precisely know about your boat but on mine the topping lift is rigged exactly as the halyard. If you have a rigid vang, it will indeed support the boom, that's kinda what it's for.

 

[sail sfbay]

While we are brainstorming....furling mainsails have the halyard inside the mast and may not be practical to pull it out of the top of the mast to use for climbing the mast. Below is a cut away of a Selden mast, which was on my Hunter 386 and now 46. This may or may not be applicable to the Beneteau 40. I would your mast manual to confirm the spinnaker sheave location.

 

[sail sfbay]

jeepbluetj brings up a very good point.............check that the spinnaker halyard goes over a sheave at the top of the mast vs. (external bail and block) then internally down the mast, as Selden furling in-masts do, to confirm adequacy for using it to climb the mast.

 

[Joe]

Do you only have one jib halyard? Honestly, I've never used the main halyard for that chore. I use one for the chair and the other for the safety... they're both on the same side of the mast so it makes it easier to manage as you go up and down. If you have roller furling you can just drop the sail, disconnect the halyard from the swivel and use that for the chair. You can use the spin halyard for the safety line..... or.......... hire an independent rigger to do it..... or....... find an adventurous young person in the marina to tackle it.

 

[Mechone]

Do you not have a mast crane at your marina , I do at our club and can use it at anytime . I go up on the crane which is rated at 3000lbs