Pros Aloft Without A Safety Line

[Dave22q]

If they want to do it on my boat they will need to prove that they assume all liability in the event of an accident.

[donradcliffe]

The rigger knows that he is going to put a 200 pound load on the Dockhead's halyard system which is engineered for a working load of over 5 times that amount. Unless he sees some evidence that the system is badly degraded, he knows that the single line is safe enough for him.

Things that come with experience are never trusting a snap shackle to the bosun's chair and never using the self tailer on a powered winch. I nearly learned the second one the hard way when a power winch control button stuck while I was going up.

When ascending or descending I always have one hand on a shroud or spare halyard in case things go wrong. I also have the helper jam or cleat off the halyard when I am where I need to be so i can use both hands.

[RobertoD]

There now is a law in Ontario, Canada, that anyone working at heights greater that 10ft /3m must take the Ontario "Working at Heights" course and be certified. I believe arborists are exempted as working high in trees is part of their training, but for everyone else it is mandatory - including climbing masts. I don't know how that would apply to a sailor having to do their own repairs/maintenance, but it would apply to a professional rigger - if a Govt inspector happened to walk through the docks etc.
Sailors don't carry full body harnesses as construction, roofers etc wear, but a proper bosun's chair is required. Regardless, a second safety line is prudent. One halyard, on a suitable winch, to do the lifting, a second halyard as a safety - it can have some slack and just be tensioned with some regularity - a 3-5 foot drop in a bosun's chair will be a jolt, but better than hitting the dec, with protruding fittings, 10-15 +plus feet below. Mast steps are great, but even then you require a safety line around the mast in case you slip or a step gives way.

[Smokeys Kitchen]

To go to Dockheads original point - in the 6 years of owning 2 sailboats we have had occasion for a rigger to go up (one of) our masts. In 2 out of the 3 cases the rigger has used a safety line.

In both cases where they used a safety line - they self-ascended up a climbing rope that they had hauled up via a halyard they had taken a good look at. They tied off the halyard that supported the climbing rope and then told everyone else to get off the boat. They also used a static 2nd halyard as a safety line, sliding a third ascender up the line as they went.

The 3rd rigger just had a single line with another worker on the boat winching him up.

When I go up I go in a chair tied to the main halyard, I have a harness fastened to the halyard, and the harness is also clipped to a second, static halyard with an ascender.

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by ArmyDaveNY

Watch this and see the competency of the crew and especially the young children!

Love those old documentary films. Great old whaling films on YT too. It was a different time of course..

[nwdiver]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Why is it that exactly zero (according to my observations, at least) of professional riggers use a safety line when going aloft?

Are they just crazy, or what?

Last time a pro was aloft on my boat, he just used a bosun's chair -- no harness. Went up on a single spare main halyard which his assistant ran through a deck turning block back to the electric mainsheet winch in the cockpit. For some reason, this guy didn't put the line on the self tailer, but he did use the clutch.

That's 23 meters up -- like being on the roof of a seven story building.

Is this the usual practice, and why?

A friend who is a pro rigger uses a bosun's chair and single line, but has a short line to the chair and clip he uses when working, so he is double clipped at the work site but not when going up or down........he says the short line is to remind him not to over reach and fall out of his seat.......plus wearing a climbing harness for 4-5 hours of mast work is less than comfortable, ok to rerun a halyard in 20 minutes but less so fo long periods

[Dougtiff]

As a rigger i go aloft quite often, each job is different, as to what kind of back up is available, to start with i use a harness with a 4 part block system and hoist myself up alone [as many times there is no one available], i prefer being in control going up and down, if another halyard is available, i will use a ASCENDER, if not, i will use a safety strap around the mast as i go up, and clip the safety strap to the mast at the work site. before going up i do the "bounce test " just off the deck to check the system.

[kmacdonald]

I've never been a big fan of safety equipment. I'm sure there are those that require it on a daily basis but less is more as far as I'm concerned. Needless to say, I don't carry a life raft.

[LoudMusic]

I was recently up a 45' mast, using a bosun chair and the primary main halyard being hoisted by a man grinding a manual winch tailed by my wife. Somewhere around the 30' mark I glanced down, realized what was happening, and thought, "Oh, so this is how I die."

In the event I go up another mast there will be two halyards and a proper harness in use.

[Mike Banks]

There are old riggers and careless riggers--but very few old careless riggers--

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Why is it that exactly zero (according to my observations, at least) of professional riggers use a safety line when going aloft?

Are they just crazy, or what?

Last time a pro was aloft on my boat, he just used a bosun's chair -- no harness. Went up on a single spare main halyard which his assistant ran through a deck turning block back to the electric mainsheet winch in the cockpit. For some reason, this guy didn't put the line on the self tailer, but he did use the clutch.

That's 23 meters up -- like being on the roof of a seven story building.

Is this the usual practice, and why?

If a "Professional" wanted to go up my mast without a safety rig, he would be sent home without payment, and I'd hire a REAL pro.

I have never had to do that, every professional rigger I hired ALWAYS had a safety line. I guess I just hire the smart ones, not the cheap ones.

You do not need a second moving line with a third person, you can use a fixed line with an ascender. That's what I use when I go up, it saved my life once already. Heck, even a webbing belt around the mast will keep you from spraying brains all over the deck.

Anybody who thinks "it can't happen to me" is a fool.

If you want to know how a REAL professional does it, read the chapter on safety aloft in Brion Toss' book, "A Riggers Apprentice."

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Benz

It's enough clutter to go aloft on just one line, let alone to burden yourself with two. I have a dedicated line that I only use for going aloft, which my climbing kit fits nicely, and I know it's in good shape.
A professional who knows what he's doing will be far safer with less safety gear than a neophyte with tons of safety gear. It's not about familiarity breeding contempt--it's about being confident and competent enough to be safe. In the rockclimbing world, which has similar situations, though far more to the extremes, the best climbers get away with the least safety gear. That in turn clutters them up less so they can be better, lighter, faster. You learn to trust your gear, and learn what can be trusted singly and what needs redundancy. And in time, you get comfortable dangling 3000 feet above the ground on a single piece of 3/8 line.
It's mostly about practice and not obsessing while aloft about what your body will look like lying broken on the deck if this or that line or carabiner fails.

If using a safety line is too much trouble for you, you would never be troubled working on my boat.

Using a safety line is my rule, you are on my boat you follow my rule, or go home.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by billknny

If a "Professional" wanted to go up my mast without a safety rig, he would be sent home without payment, and I'd hire a REAL pro.

I have never had to do that, every professional rigger I hired ALWAYS had a safety line. I guess I just hire the smart ones, not the cheap ones.

You do not need a second moving line with a third person, you can use a fixed line with an ascender. That's what I use when I go up, it saved my life once already. Heck, even a webbing belt around the mast will keep you from spraying brains all over the deck.

Anybody who thinks "it can't happen to me" is a fool.

If you want to know how a REAL professional does it, read the chapter on safety aloft in Brion Toss' book, "A Riggers Apprentice."

Well, this particular guy is one of the most famous riggers in England. He and his guys are in charge of rigging all new Oysters. I don't agree, based on what I've seen, that more professional guys are more likely to use a safety line. From what I've seen, it's about the opposite.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Well, this particular guy is one of the most famous riggers in England. He and his guys are in charge of rigging all new Oysters. I don't agree, based on what I've seen, that more professional guys are more likely to use a safety line. From what I've seen, it's about the opposite.

He STILL can't work on my boat that way... no matter how famous he is.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Well, this particular guy is one of the most famous riggers in England. He and his guys are in charge of rigging all new Oysters. I don't agree, based on what I've seen, that more professional guys are more likely to use a safety line. From what I've seen, it's about the opposite.

DH, this agrees with my observations here in Oz: riggers who work with an offsider get winched up sans safety line, and ones who work solo use a four part tackle and self hoist, again using only the one line. This, of course, after a good inspection of all the gear involved. Tying off once aloft varies with the task in progress.

Of course, Aussies do have a certain reputation...

Jim