Climbing the Mast with Webbing Ladder

[thinwater]

As a regular (most weeks) rock and ice climber that is over 60, a few tips:



Yes, the steps are too far apart. But NOT if you can also use your arms to good effect.

• Wear coated palm work gloves. They grip the mast and rigging much better than bare, sweaty hands.
• Put your hands around the mast, not the steps. Obvious.
• Lean back when placing the feet in the loops. Much easier. Hit a rhythm.
• wear smooth deck shoes that slide in the loops easily. I use a pair that are hardened and slick. They are treacherous on deck, but fast in the ladder.
• Wear a harness and either have a belayer or use a self-belay device you trust on a parallel line. I like the Camp Goblin, because it works unattended up and down. Not only is this safer, it will encourage you to relax and climb smoothly, saving a lot of energy.
• Take some climbing slings and biners with you to the top. Useful for tying yourself off in the best possition, and for bracing against.
• Don't forget the haul line and tool bag (electricians ladder bag works well). Don't climb with your tools, and for certain, you forgot something.
• Don't let the helper stand under your. Things can get dropped.

I can climb a 40-foot mast at an easy pace in less than a minute, as you would an extension ladder. Find a rhythm.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by thinwater

As a regular (most weeks) rock and ice climber that is over 60, a few tips:



Yes, the steps are too far apart. But NOT if you can also use your arms to good effect.

• Wear coated palm work gloves. They grip the mast and rigging much better than bare, sweaty hands.
• Put your hands around the mast, not the steps. Obvious.
• Lean back when placing the feet in the loops. Much easier. Hit a rhythm.
• wear smooth deck shoes that slide in the loops easily. I use a pair that are hardened and slick. They are treacherous on deck, but fast in the ladder.
• Wear a harness and either have a belayer or use a self-belay device you trust on a parallel line. I like the Camp Goblin, because it works unattended up and down. Not only is this safer, it will encourage you to relax and climb smoothly, saving a lot of energy.
• Take some climbing slings and biners with you to the top. Useful for tying yourself off in the best possition, and for bracing against.
• Don't forget the haul line and tool bag (electricians ladder bag works well). Don't climb with your tools, and for certain, you forgot something.
• Don't let the helper stand under your. Things can get dropped.

I can climb a 40-foot mast at an easy pace in less than a minute, as you would an extension ladder. Find a rhythm.

Sounds like good advice and it's obvious you know your stuff but I'd have to go shopping to get all those items.

Also, I don't have a helper.

I was wearing huge ECCO Hiking Boots which made it hard to get my feet in the "steps"
but gave me more of a workout. Most of the clothes I wear are pretty cheap except my gym shoes, cycling shoes, and these boots

https://www.amazon.com/ECCO-Track-Go...a-487336385479

I don't have any climbing stuff except the webbing ladder.

Next trip up I'll wear my tethering harness even though it's too high ..... like near my chest area but it can still be attached to the tether and I can secure the other end of the tether up there and make it shorter in the process.

I'll make other adjustments as I have more trips up the mast.

Next is just the steaming light which is just above the spreaders. I'm going to clean the socket and replace the bulb the rewire from the bottom of the mast where I cut it off years ago.

[goboatingnow]

My mast ladder has rigid plastic steps each with a mast track slide , and webbing between steps.

Hence I hold the ladder steps not the mast as I ascend . I always ascend with either a bosuns chair or a safety line as well. Once in position , I attach a webbing strap around my torso and the mast.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

My mast ladder has rigid plastic steps each with a mast track slide , and webbing between steps.

Hence I hold the ladder steps not the mast as I ascend . I always ascend with either a bosuns chair or a safety line as well. Once in position , I attach a webbing strap around my torso and the mast.

Nice.

My steps are webbing only which is why they drop so with p/o 190 lbs. on them, but it's a big improvement compared to climbing the mast without any thing.

I have climbed to the spreader a few times in the past just going up the mast with arms and legs but didn't go over the spreaders like that........

It's hard to work like that and that was a few years ago

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Nice.

My steps are webbing only which is why they drop so with p/o 190 lbs. on them, but it's a big improvement compared to climbing the mast without any thing.

I have climbed to the spreader a few times in the past just going up the mast with arms and legs but didn't go over the spreaders like that........

It's hard to work like that and that was a few years ago

Yeah the no way I’d use a complete webbing ladder , very fatiguing and little sense of security.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Yeah the no way I’d use a complete webbing ladder , very fatiguing and little sense of security.

Well I was on mine for quite while that first time last Saturday so I think I'm good to go with it now.

I'll do it more now until I get the hang of it.

Plus it's a pretty good workout and anyone over age 50 should be doing at least 2-3 hard workouts each week to stay healthy or if not a hard workout a 2-3 mile walk a couple time per week

Plus it helps keeps you strong if you need to climb back onto your boat from the water

[grantmc]

I have a set, although a different brand. They're great, but I still prefer someone on the deck winding in a safety line on to a winch from the spinnaker for me.

I don't have any issues climbing up but I find the straps really really hard on my feet and about 20 mins is all I can cope with. The straps seem to get tighter and tighter and feel like they're crushing whichever is the lower foot.

It's certainly a great deal quicker and easier than the work needed by someone on the deck winching me up.

[Jdege]

Reading accounts like this reinforces my decision to buy a boat with mast tabernacles.

I'm in my early sixties, and climbing masts is just not something I'd do for fun.

[thinwater]

A few more things:

• Webbing ladders are for people who like climbing. Using your arms and legs, and moving smoothly. Fast and low effort if you are a climber, not so much if you move slowly, clinging at each step. Yes, I am over 60, but I climb rock regularly, so I find the motion easy and relaxing.
• Concentrate on climbing smoothly and securely, not on falling. That sounds silly, but the belay system should not take any of your attention. Just climb.
• Perfectly secure if you put your hands around the mast.
• Always use a safety line, with any method. Either a belayer (separate topic--this is dead simple to climbers but must be well conceived) or a self-tending fall protection device (Petzl ASAP or Camp Golblin--you have to have the correct rope size for each). Or use a Prusik, which is easier to deal with than an ascender.
• Always use a harness. That is what you sit in while working, not standing in the loops.
• Pad the harness legs. This is the key to comfort for over 30 minutes. 4- to 5-inch wide x 10-inch long x 1/2-inch thick exercise tile (firm) material is perfect. Just duct tape it inside the leg loops.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by thinwater

A few more things:

• Webbing ladders are for people who like climbing. Using your arms and legs, and moving smoothly. Fast and low effort if you are a climber, not so much if you move slowly, clinging at each step. Yes, I am over 60, but I climb rock regularly, so I find the motion easy and relaxing.
• Concentrate on climbing smoothly and securely, not on falling. That sounds silly, but the belay system should not take any of your attention. Just climb.
• Perfectly secure if you put your hands around the mast.
• Always use a safety line, with any method. Either a belayer (separate topic--this is dead simple to climbers but must be well conceived) or a self-tending fall protection device (Petzl ASAP or Camp Golblin--you have to have the correct rope size for each). Or use a Prusik, which is easier to deal with than an ascender.
• Always use a harness. That is what you sit in while working, not standing in the loops.
• Pad the harness legs. This is the key to comfort for over 30 minutes. 4- to 5-inch wide x 10-inch long x 1/2-inch thick exercise tile (firm) material is perfect. Just duct tape it inside the leg loops.

For those of us that aren't really climbers going slow on the webbing ladder seems to work okay.

For me, I was contemplating on each step whether or not I was going to continue so I was up there quite a while "discussing" this with myself

It was like if I fall (over 65 here) I know I'll most likely break something and be out of work. Before climbing I had this idea I could make a jump for it just before hitting the dock, boat, or water if the mast fell but once up there I knew my fat boots would never come out of the webbing easy enough for that.

So I would have to go for the ride all the way down.

Fortunately though everything worked out but after being up there so long I was quite tired.

This was a Saturday and I had completed my 3.5 mile jog and workout on Wednesday so legs weren't 100% when I started

[Paul54]

I also use a web climber. I have used it on many occasions. This past couple of weeks I have used it several times due to a recent lightning hit. I haul mine up with the main halyard, then tie off any excess at the mast bottom.
I normally wear a climbing harness and also use 2 ascenders on two separate halyards. This gives me great peace of mind, which I desperately need. I tie off the extra halyards for the ascenders so they are tight against the mast. I also have a long tether I can wrap around the mast, as well as a tool bag attached to my harness.

My mast is about 55’ tall. I am 68 yrs. old. And yes it tires and stresses me out.
If I remember, I take a couple of ibuprofen after I’m done climbing.

It is a safe way to go up the mast with out having to bother anybody else.
It is a lot of prep work to get things ready. I have to remove the front of my mainsail from the tracks first. Get my harness on, and hookup the backup ascenders.

I purchased the ascenders to make up a foot/hands assembly to be used at sea if the main was stuck in its up position. I don’t think I would be capable of climbing up the mast though. Maybe if it was a really bad situation I might make the attempt.

Boat wakes and high winds don’t bother me much, as I normally use 3 levels of attachment.

I hate going up the mast, but my climber has been a great safe tool for many years.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Paul54

I also use a web climber. I have used it on many occasions. This past couple of weeks I have used it several times due to a recent lightning hit. I haul mine up with the main halyard, then tie off any excess at the mast bottom.
I normally wear a climbing harness and also use 2 ascenders on two separate halyards. This gives me great peace of mind, which I desperately need. I tie off the extra halyards for the ascenders so they are tight against the mast. I also have a long tether I can wrap around the mast, as well as a tool bag attached to my harness.

My mast is about 55’ tall. I am 68 yrs. old. And yes it tires and stresses me out.
If I remember, I take a couple of ibuprofen after I’m done climbing.

It is a safe way to go up the mast with out having to bother anybody else.
It is a lot of prep work to get things ready. I have to remove the front of my mainsail from the tracks first. Get my harness on, and hookup the backup ascenders.

I purchased the ascenders to make up a foot/hands assembly to be used at sea if the main was stuck in its up position. I don’t think I would be capable of climbing up the mast though. Maybe if it was a really bad situation I might make the attempt.

Boat wakes and high winds don’t bother me much, as I normally use 3 levels of attachment.

I hate going up the mast, but my climber has been a great safe tool for many years.

55' Geez!

That's up there.

I think my mast plus boat is like 35' total......

I'll have to read up on those ascenders you folks are speaking of.

I have been considering going to the climbing gym here.

I enjoy all climbing movies and documentaries from Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell and the guy from the movie The Alpinist Marc-André Leclerc which was great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpVyzagXLQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAtj0tyt52s

[Stormsignal]

FWIW Pat Lawless is taking one of these with him on the 2022 GGR.

https://kinlevenmarine.com/yacht-mast-ladder/

[andrzej0nl1ne]

The L-36.com site has good videos on an evolution of mast climbing approaches. Special focus on the decent.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by thomm225

For those of us that aren't really climbers going slow on the webbing ladder seems to work okay.

For me, I was contemplating on each step whether or not I was going to continue so I was up there quite a while "discussing" this with myself

It was like if I fall (over 65 here) I know I'll most likely break something and be out of work. Before climbing I had this idea I could make a jump for it just before hitting the dock, boat, or water if the mast fell but once up there I knew my fat boots would never come out of the webbing easy enough for that.

So I would have to go for the ride all the way down.

Fortunately though everything worked out but after being up there so long I was quite tired.

This was a Saturday and I had completed my 3.5 mile jog and workout on Wednesday so legs weren't 100% when I started

As a climber, you do NOT want to be considering "jumping." You either

• Have a good safety system and trust it completely.
• Focus on the climbing 100% and don't fall. This does not mean moving slowly, this means moving with focus on what you are doing and not focus on the ground.

If you are thinking about jumping as an alternative, you climb down and reconsider your safety system until you don't need to worry about it. 100% certain.