Fall protection when climbing a stepped mast

[Sailing Ohm]

Originally Posted by er9

My idea is a chest harness, attach the main halyard to the harness. Wrap the halyard line two or three times around the mast winch and then run it through a large jam cleat attached to the mast somewhere. As you climb pull the halyard sheet tight behind you. The jam cleat should stop a fall and the wraps on the winch some heavy friction. I havnt actually tried this yet

If you actually do fall a chest harness will be pretty useless. I wouldn’t get a harness without crotch straps or else your liable to slip out.

If your steps are solid you can get a linesman belt (or make one) that will keep you close to the mast.
It’s what I use with my Mast Mate and it works pretty well.

It in itself will not catch you if you fall, like a proper climbing harness would, but it will keep your center of gravity close to the mast while allowing you to move up and down.

If you truly trust your mast steps this should really be all you need.

Now the bigger question is how do you actually know your mast steps are solid until you put weight on them?
After seeing a few fail and hearing about plenty more I find it hard to trust something with the potential for so much corrosion (there are likely dissimilar metals) and so little opportunity for inspection.


Nothing will be safer and cheaper than a traditional bosun chair and a few beers to give to a helper. You can still use your steps but the bosun chair will be added safety and comfort when you get to where your working.

[Cadence]

Had you considered just a chest harness and a loop around the mast with enough length to move it up or down a step at a time.

[Freedom40]

I have a tree climbers saddle with seat and leg straps as well as a Gibbs ascended. If interested send me a private message with your email so that I can send you pictures.

[Sherpa17]

Phil Weld wrote a great description of getting trapped aloft on Moxie during a Transat. Old school.

[n5ama]

Has anyone had any experience with the “ATN Mastclimber” hardware. It looks good but I would like to hear about it from personal experience.

Thanks

[er9]

Originally Posted by Sailing Ohm

If you actually do fall a chest harness will be pretty useless. I wouldn’t get a harness without crotch straps or else your liable to slip out.

If your steps are solid you can get a linesman belt (or make one) that will keep you close to the mast.
It’s what I use with my Mast Mate and it works pretty well.

It in itself will not catch you if you fall, like a proper climbing harness would, but it will keep your center of gravity close to the mast while allowing you to move up and down.

If you truly trust your mast steps this should really be all you need.

Now the bigger question is how do you actually know your mast steps are solid until you put weight on them?
After seeing a few fail and hearing about plenty more I find it hard to trust something with the potential for so much corrosion (there are likely dissimilar metals) and so little opportunity for inspection.


Nothing will be safer and cheaper than a traditional bosun chair and a few beers to give to a helper. You can still use your steps but the bosun chair will be added safety and comfort when you get to where your working.

thanks for the info on the belt.

the idea for me is to be able to climb the mast in an emergency at sea as well as for dock work. the mast steps im looking to buy are pretty solid aluminum alloy and i would fasten them with aluminum machine screws so corrosion should be minimal to non-existant. my mast is pretty thick so should get a solid connection.

im the type of boat owner thats regularly lying upside down somewhere in the guts of the boat just starring at things looking for problems or tidying up something that doesn't look quit right. not saying i couldnt have a step failure but its something i would check regularly and take into account while climbing.

as kids when we were six and seven years old me and my brothers would regularly climb 80ft pine trees for fun. parents cant get away with letting their kids do those things these days but it taught me how to climb properly if im going to do it with steps, so hopefully would avoid any injuries or a fall.

that being said i would definitely try to use a tether of some fashion while climbing.

[rgranger]

This does not directly apply to your situation but it is close enough that it might be useful. I take care of four different houses (large family) and I have done the roofing myself on all of them. I wear a harness tied to a rope that goes over the opposite side of the house and is tied to 150lbs of sand bags. The rope is just long enough to let me get to the edge of the opposite roof line. If I slip, I will still fall... but it will be a very slow fall. My thinking is that I'd rather slow fall than dangle.

I have a mast that I can easily lower (Hunter 26) so I don't climb my mast but I've imagined that if I ever needed to, I would simply tie the halyard to a sandbag or other weighted counter... hoist it up the mast using the winch then tie the end in my hand to the harness. If you were to fall, it would be a slow motion fall... and you won't be left dangling.

[jrau18]

Originally Posted by Wideocean7

Hi All.
I don't feel confident enough to rely on friction knots such as Kleimheist/Prussic.

Why? A prusik knot is very simple to tie, so easy to double check that you tied it correctly. Its also very simple to check it at the deck height before ascending. It has been around for at least 100 years. There is no mystery about these knots. Plus it allows you to use your halyard (assuming your halyard/vessel is of adequate size and condition), so no extra equipment is needed (other than the harness).

I think you're overthinking this. You say you aren't finding the info you need for how to ascend the mast safely with steps built into your mast, but I would suggest you have. The steps are just a convenient means up ascending quickly. They do not replace a safety harness, etc. You should follow whatever method you would feel comfortable using if you had no steps, then use the steps to make it all faster/easier.

In my case, I always used two halyards and a harness. One went to a belayer on the deck who took up slack as I ascended and was tied directly to my harness with a figure eight knot. The other halyard I ascended using a prusik knot. If I had steps, I would just do exactly that, but use the steps to make it faster. Somebody less paranoid than me might eliminate one of the halyards, I suppose.

[GrowleyMonster]

I have been up masts solo, and a couple of times I got myself in jams that were very difficult to get out of. That was mostly when I was 30 years younger and 75lb lighter. AND I was quite used to climbing and had far greater than average physical strength, and good flexibility and agility, from work. Now, no way would I go up even a fairly short mast solo, even with mast steps. Stuff happens. OTOH, I do not like trusting my life to someone else, who typically has less at stake than me when I am aloft. The extra person is a backup only. I prefer to self rescue if possible because I at least am not likely to be distracted and I will understand my own rigging.

Not saying I recommend this, but my usual belay is a simple locking carabiner with a carabiner hitch or Munter hitch or whatever type or variation hitch. I go around with an extra bight if I think I need to, when I am at the top. This is not for routine descent because it is hard on your rope, but it is simple and does not rely on gadgets. Simply keep taking in slack as you climb so you never have more than a couple feet of slack. Pay out a couple feet at a time as you clumb down. Resist the urge to abseil down. It looks kewl in the movies but there is no need if you have steps and you can easily abseil yourself into a jam with no easy way out of it. Don't be in a hurry. If it takes 20 minutes to get up and another 20 to get down, so what?

Lots of good suggestions in this thread but I would give ascenders a miss for this particular application. I don't trust them for stopping a fall, and they could break or jam, and are somewhat size critical when it comes to the rope used. A Munter hitch doesn't much care what size rope you use, as long as the carabiner is big enough and most importantly is a locking type and rated for climbing, not carrying keys on your belt.loops.

A proper aloft safety lanyard with fall arrester is a great backup. Should you happen to fall several feet instead of a foot or two, the fall arrester can make a big difference in the outcome, because the decceleration is less abrupt.The problem is that self rescue could maybe be difficult after it does its job saving your life. With a carabiner belay on a climbing line or at least a good halyard, you can lower yourself if not terribly injured. You can get your feet back on steps and slack your belay. I think a carabiner is just more flexible and practical for this. DISCLAIMER I am not a professional yacht rigger. On the other hand, I am not selling anything.

Should I happen to take a hard knock and become unconscious, my safety man on deck hopefully can lower me by my safety rope. Hopefully. That's my final resort but I would rather have somebody and feel silly for not needing him, there than to feel silly for needing him and not having him there. Stuff happens and you can't anticipate all the stuff that could happen.

<EDIT> I looked for a good web page and this is not the best but it is the first one I found that illustrates the method in an easily digestible manner.
https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/munter-hitch/

[jrau18]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

Don't be in a hurry. If it takes 20 minutes to get up and another 20 to get down, so what?

100% agree with this. We've all seen the videos of pro racers going aloft in an emergency in 40 foot seas on the southern ocean. For 99.99% of us, that isn't ever a situation we will be in, and we can take our time, not just to prep, but once we're actually aloft. It took me 30 minutes last time I fixed my windvane. The actual repair would have taken only 2 minutes on the deck, but I took my time both with the repair and with the ascent/descent and thought out every step I was taking while I was up there. Slow and methodical is better than fast and sloppy when the consequence is falling 50 feet.

Now that I'm not cruising anymore, I have a job that occasionally requires me to ascend a 100 foot rope ladder on the side of cargo ships in the ocean while loaded up with a rifle, handgun, and combination body armor/pfd labeled with the name of a certain government agency. I can fly up that 80 foot ladder in 30 seconds, because I am in a hurry in case somebody on the bridge is rushing to get a gun. But on my sailboat, I take 5 minutes to go up the same distance. Nobody is trying to shoot you while you're going up your mast, so take your time.

[john manning]

My son, a keen mountain climber, got me two ascenders. One is tied to the bosuns chair, the other to a foot strap.

When going up the mast you pause at each step and raise ascender 1 to shoulder height, then go up another step. Ascender 2 (tied to the footstrap) is only used if you go up or down the rope alone.

Maximum fall is the distance from your shoulder to the bosun's chair.

Slow but safe.

[carstendenmark]

1) Don't do it yourself
2) Don't trust your wife as a helper. She MAY not help you after all. She gets all your assets if you fail.

3) If you climb the mast alone, then be in an area where you can SHOUT out for help, and be heard by someone who cares. Don't rely on a cellphone !

4) Imagine everything that can go wrong ! Then you'll opt for point 1)


It's more fun to sail, than to die by a stupid mistake.
So stay alive.

[WaterLilyCat]

I have a 40ft catamaran and normally sail single handed. So often have to climb the mast alone. My approach is very simple and never ever felt unsafe.
I use a climbing harness and a Bosun chair together. The harness is just too uncomfortable to work in.
At the top of the mast I fabricated and installed 6ssteps for easy access to gear at the top.
I use 2 halyards, one connected to the climbing harness and the other to the bosuns chair. Also a couple of foot straps connected to one of the halyards. I use short lengths of rope with prusik knots for attachment as they are simple and don't damage the halyards.
Assessing is a bit slow. Can only go up about 8 inches at a time but there's no hurry.
Can easily stay aloft for 3 hours at a time.
This works for me and no costly gear. I am 67 so not young anymore.

[Cadence]

A lot of it sounds like overkill.

[nmccubbin]

The ideas of using climbing ascenders are valid, but I feel overly complex and expensive. Also be aware that most climbing gear is made of high strength aluminum, and such material is quite susceptible to corrosion by sea water or just lying around a boat. It is a very different alloy from that used for boatbuilding
I set up a spare halyard tight, put a prussik loop on it, and attache that to a chest harness or even just a rope around my chest. Google Prussik knot for ow to tie

I am not worried about the shock loads some posters mention, because my safety line is always with a maximum free fall of under a foot.