Climbing Up the Mast

[feelsgood]

It was stitched and the stitching had gone rotten. I still think the stirups and prusic way is the easiest. Also check the life lines on the deck I have found more than I am happy with that have rotten in the sun. Read my post on having anchor points in the cabin top better and safer

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

i had one of those and put in the bin after I nearly fell from the top of an 80ft mast. A long story and not my fault. I would never trust one again

Yes, I have go one of those and think its great but each to there own. However I bought mine new and its only a year old.

The one big advantage I see over variations of the bosun chair is you are able to quickly change your height in relation to the top of the mast by stepping up and down and generally move around as you would do at home on a ladder. So you can stand above the top of the mast and work looking down. Mine runs up the trysail track on the mast because with inmast reefing we don't have the normal main sail track.

Used with a harness and the spinnaker halyard just in case it provides a good platform to work from. That said working at the top of the mast still frightens the living daylights out of me

Pete

[sigmasailor]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

i had one of those and put in the bin after I nearly fell from the top of an 80ft mast. A long story and not my fault. I would never trust one again

Dou you know that in 85% of accidents occurred the actual victim is to blame (at least partly); can you explain us why you claim to be amongst the 15%.
LRMA or Stop&Go are essential tools when climbing your mast.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

i had one of those and put in the bin after I nearly fell from the top of an 80ft mast. A long story and not my fault. I would never trust one again

Yes, I have go one of those and think its great but each to there own. However I bought mine new and its only a year old.

The one big advantage I see over variations of the bosun chair is you are able to quickly change your height in relation to the top of the mast by stepping up and down and generally move around as you would do at home on a ladder. So you can stand above the top of the mast and work looking down. Mine runs up the trysail track on the mast because with inmast reefing we don't have the normal main sail track.

Used with a harness and the spinnaker halyard just in case it provides a good platform to work from. That said working at the top of the mast still frightens the living daylights out of me

Pete

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

i had one of those and put in the bin after I nearly fell from the top of an 80ft mast. A long story and not my fault. I would never trust one again

One of those what? Several different systems have been discussed. Which one did you have the bad experience with?

[marc]

I've had my TopClimber for about 9 years. I don't understand why people think it's so expensive. By the time you buy ascenders, decenders, harnesses/seats, buy stirrups, make prussic loops,take lessons, etc, just to prove that you can do it cheaper, better, and safer. The seat alone is light and comfortable. I tried a climbing harness. Agony and expensive. The TC ascender totally encloses the rope and cannot slip out. The petzel slips on from the side, which is probably good for trained climbers, but not for the layman. The TC is a complete package. You start to use it right away, without an instructor. Keep It Simple St---d.
I'm 72yo., and it's the first thing that worked for me.
Marc

[Butler]

I have a Mast Mate and I have found it to be some help in getting up and down the mast but it is a tiring thing to work from and I have a chair that I use once I'm up. They are well made.
If anyone is considering ordering one rather than making their own I think they should request that the "steps" be placed at least 2 or 3 inches closer together. This will add expense with more steps and labor but I have long legs and still find myself having to lift my leg way up and search for the strap, then having to lean out from the mast to locate it with my foot half the time. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I have used it a lot so I dunno.
To prevent fall-back and as back-up/safety I used a climbing harness but those are tricky because they can leave you dangling upside down in the event of a fall back so I switched to an OSHA chest harness and felt more comfortable. Now I just strap the chair around me (kinda awkward but do-able)for nearly the same effect and the chest harness is what I click into when it's snotty.

[stevern]

Originally Posted by marc

I've had my TopClimber for about 9 years. I don't understand why people think it's so expensive. By the time you buy ascenders, decenders, harnesses/seats, buy stirrups, make prussic loops,take lessons, etc, just to prove that you can do it cheaper, better, and safer. The seat alone is light and comfortable. I tried a climbing harness. Agony and expensive. The TC ascender totally encloses the rope and cannot slip out. The petzel slips on from the side, which is probably good for trained climbers, but not for the layman. The TC is a complete package. You start to use it right away, without an instructor. Keep It Simple St---d.
I'm 72yo., and it's the first thing that worked for me.
Marc

GREAT FRIEND , quote quote! all that i say is that every thing is complicate or dangerous if it is not well understood. With my method
/system already explained in a thread I usually get up and down to the mast in total security. Only one suggestion to everybody : take care about the pulley on top and change it if necessary. For this I use 2 dropes and sometimes 3. As you (friend) I am young ( a young 62 Y man) Ciao from Italy

[tager]

I think the cheapest "mast climbing system" is a couple pieces of flat webbing, 2 waterknots to make them into loops, and 2 klemheist knots around the mast. One loop goes under your butt, and your feet straddle the mast within the other loop.

It is pretty safe, uncomfortable, cheap, cumbersome, easy to store, and very stable. It won't get you out to the spreader tips, but it will get you everywhere else.

If it were to fail, it would be because the webbing chafed through, you cut the webbing with a knife, or you tied a knot incorrectly. All of these are easy to avoid.