how much halyard

[Paul Billings]

more on ascending

I guess I need to go up the mast again to review the state of the upper sheaves and help thread the new halyards. Thanks for the help on the sail raising issue everyone.A nice article about ascending the mast is at:http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prusik_knot.htmlIn it he also mentions the Kleimheist as an alternative to the Prusik (easier to unlock). http://www.climbing.ie/knots.htmlLastly, things seemed to work better for some by using a smaller line for the ascender (half the halyard diameter). Obviously if your halyard is small you may not be able to maintain this ratio!Paul

 

[scott wilson]

Paul, just a reminder

after I checked out your great links. I use the prusik as a back up, or belay, to the two ascender devices. I have tried climbing the rope with 2 prusiks ( one for seat harness and one for foot stirups) in a mountainering class, and I was exhausted after 10 feet of climbing. Also it is possible to get "stuck" when descending w/ascenders, so have a buddy standing by who can lower you with the halyard you are not climbing, keeping the pusik on the halyard you climbed, or around the mast as a back up when being lowered. Scott

 

[Alan]

We never climb the halyard.

Have a dedicated line for climbing which we hoist with the halyard. This way the halyard never has to suffer the ascenders, and our spectra halyards are very slippy. We have the covers peeled back on the first 50' of halyard which makes for much less friction hoisting and dousing.

 

[Mark]

Hate to ask the obvious, but ...

I have personally found myself in the same situation, Main wouldn't go up the last foot or so. Re-examining the mast head from the cockpit, I realized that the halyard had wrapped around the backstay when we stepped the mast on Launch Day. No big deal to fix, and it made a BIG difference.Sure, it's obvious ... but only if you've been there before.