first of all have seen pics of guys up the mast and wiondering why its done and second how the heck do you do it ? whats the smallest mast thats able to be climbed? are you folks using the main sheet line to pull you up? curious here not sure but on my 23.5 it doesnt look like anything mounted atop my mast can be used to suppport the wiehg tof a man .
mast climbing
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I had a 1973 O'Day 23. If I needed to go up the mast I would use a Bosen,s chair and a couple of friends. I would use the jib halyard and winch. If I needed to go up the mast and no friends were handy I would shinny up and sit or stand on the spreaders next to the mast. I weighed 165 at the time and was a whole lot stronger.
On any boat where the mast is easily stepped like your own you should not climb. There probably is a recommended boat displacement below which you should drop the mast and not climb. The lighter the boat then the lighter the rigging. But there is also the issue of not enough weight below the water to counter the weight of a climber with all that leverage. Someone will know the rule I suspect.
There are many reasons for going up there. A common one is loss of a halyard where the shackle pops off and goes to the top. If you have halyard wrap on your jib furler you have to go up. Then there are the lights and the VHF antenna.
As for how to go up there are many ways all documented many times here on SBO. Just use "Search" for "mast climbing". Here is one thread for example: mast climbing.
There are many reasons for going up there. A common one is loss of a halyard where the shackle pops off and goes to the top. If you have halyard wrap on your jib furler you have to go up. Then there are the lights and the VHF antenna.
As for how to go up there are many ways all documented many times here on SBO. Just use "Search" for "mast climbing". Here is one thread for example: mast climbing.
Up The Mast H25
We just used a bosun's chair to go up my 81 H25 with no problems.
I was wondering too if my boat was too small to try this but it went just fine.
Had a wire-rope main halyard that was frozen and we were able to spray enough WD 40 on it to get it moving again. All the sheaves need to be replaced and I might try this without dropping the mast. Not sure yet.
Will most likely order a mast mate to do this again in the future.
Carl
sv Hoku Kai
We just used a bosun's chair to go up my 81 H25 with no problems.
I was wondering too if my boat was too small to try this but it went just fine.
Had a wire-rope main halyard that was frozen and we were able to spray enough WD 40 on it to get it moving again. All the sheaves need to be replaced and I might try this without dropping the mast. Not sure yet.
Will most likely order a mast mate to do this again in the future.
Carl
sv Hoku Kai
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Carl: I would suggest that you have the mast removed from the boat and correct any problems while it is on the bench. You need to be sure that the shafts are okay too.
Spend the money now and you can also get rid of the wire/rope halyard.
Spend the money now and you can also get rid of the wire/rope halyard.
I used to go up the mast at least once a year to sand and paint it. Wooden masts with paint are no longer common.
I agree with the others. On a trailer boat with mast raising systems, why would we ever consider climbing it.
I agree with the others. On a trailer boat with mast raising systems, why would we ever consider climbing it.
I don't know how old your boat or its rigging is, but I would not consider going up the mast on our '93 23.5. Especially since it's so easy to unstep the mast to do any work.
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