Sewing a Bosun's Chair

[Bad Obsession]

I am thinking that I would like make a bosun's chair as an early Spring project. I have Don Casey's Canvas Work and Sail Repair book but there aren't any instructions in his book for this (I thought that there were but there aren't).

Then I got to thinking that running someone or myself up the mast in a homemade chair may be nerve wracking for the first time.

I am good at making box X stitches and if I was making a chair I would probably go overboard in designing it to be exta strong.

Has anyone ever done this? If so what were the results. Any suggestions or ideas? Anyone have any instructions or patterns?

 

[Joe]

Jim Grant's canvas book has a really nicely designed bosun's chair project. You can order the book at www.Sailrite.com. here's the link: http://www.sailrite.com/Complete-Canvasworkers-Guide

My bosun't chair is a simple hardwood board woven into a sling of 1/2 inch rope and it can be a little daunting at first. I have also used a soft chair(no board seat), it feels more secure but it becomes very uncomfortable quickly. So I've gone back to the hardwood seat. My recommendation is a canvas chair with a hard seat sewn in. That is the design you'll see in the sailrite book.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

In my youth I scraped and painted a wooden mast on a 40' ketch each spring. We had a simple plank with rope harness to each corner. I spent many hours on it.

If that wasn't available, and I would only be up for a short time, we tied a complex knot that I stepped into. Loops for legs and back.

The canvas ones I saw were of two types. Straps or breaches. The strap ones had 8" wide straps for the bottom and back with a safety strap in the front. You sat in it. The breaches looked like canvas shorts with grommets at the waist for the hoisting harness. You didn't sit, you were hoisted upright in it.

You could copy the pattern used for child safe swings.

 

[sailingdog]

You're probably going to be using webbing to make the chair. Make sure the webbing goes all the way under the chair and is well stitched.

 

[Bad Obsession]

If I made it I would stitch 2" nylon webbing all the way under. I would use double box X stitches the put the D rings in but I would also run the webbing as almost a double to add strength.

 

[jibes138]

This marine industry cracks me up. Go on the internet and search on harnesses used in the maintenance industry for climbing and tying off when working on ceilings. Much less expensive and incredibly strong. You can probably buy one of these for less than making one.

 

[Jalepeno]

Up the mast

I climbed my mast for the first time last weekend. Used a simple mountian climbing harness and two assenders on a spare halyard hoisted on the main sail halyard. A sailing mate used my spiniker halyard as a safety line around the mast winch. I repaired the steaming light and replaced mast top Windex. It was much easier and safer than I expected. I used the technique described in the Pacific Yachting magazine last year.

 

[alexco38]

Why don't you just buy one from this site? You've using their free resources why not show some appreciation.

http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.htm?group=670

 

[Steve Dion]

I would have to agree. Either purchase a bosun chair or get a harness. Your life is "probably" worth at least $120.

 

[woodster]

I am thinking that I would like make a bosun's chair as an early Spring project. I have Don Casey's Canvas Work and Sail Repair book but there aren't any instructions in his book for this (I thought that there were but there aren't).

Then I got to thinking that running someone or myself up the mast in a homemade chair may be nerve wracking for the first time.

I am good at making box X stitches and if I was making a chair I would probably go overboard in designing it to be exta strong.

Has anyone ever done this? If so what were the results. Any suggestions or ideas? Anyone have any instructions or patterns?

back in the Y&D( young and dumb) days of my early twenty's on the mississippi river in Memphis... we used to take a airforce parachute and cut some of the panels out and rig a old timey tree swing seat made out of a wooden plank and manilia rope...rig it to the back of a chris craft runabout with a 250" rope and go parasailing on the river .......who knew or cared how unsafe that might be ....but we had a blast and never had anyone hurt from rigging...now days safty is so in vouge that the real fun of being Y@D is almost gone...it was clean fun and without mind altering drugs i might ad......

regards

woody

 

[Bad Obsession]

Yep....$120 isn't that much but....it would be a cool project and something to do while it is nasty outside. I would also be gaining some experience in canvas work and it doesn't looke like it is really involved.

I am still thinking about it.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I used a climbing harness the first time I went up. A bosun is MUCH more comfortable. The one I used was a hardwood board with 1/2" nylon rope that passed under the seat in an X. I still used a harness though, and had a strap hooked around the mast.
I'm a worst case scenario kind of guy.

 

[catsailor]

Regarding safety:

* Many bosuns' chairs require a separate waist loop, to protect against falling out. If that is the case, failure of the chair is not serious. Many wear a climbing harness inside the chair, which is a great idea.

* Test break some stitching under a known with, then add stitches until you get the desired strength. 5000 pounds is the target strength.

* You can always use knots.

* Harness design is sort of like sail design; proper function requires an understanding of the forces and balance. I would not try to make my own design unless I had expedience in the area of climbing equipment.

 

[Hermit Scott]

The X stitch you are talking about is incredibly strong. Some stiching on some of my climbing gear is 1/4" wide left and right stitch that is perpindicular to the way the force is applied. They put 4 or 5 of those about 1/4" apart. Simple and effective. Those are on 1/2" wide nylon strap and are designed to catch a falling climber, 200 lb. person falling 40 feet.