Brain Buster- How to use a bosuns chair to reach the end of a cantilevered beam?

[Chotu]

The setup:

*you have a 20ft cantilevered beam that you can reach ONLY the secured side. The free hanging side is way up in the air as is all of the beam
*you have rope
*you have a bosuns chair
*the beam has many “obstacles” welded to it such as tabs and tangs that prevent you from sliding a loop down the beam nicely as you try to progress to the end


How do you reach the end of the beam in your bosuns chair??

Been looking at this for quite some time today

[JPA Cate]

a) hire a "cherry picker"? (box on a crane to move you up there)

Seriously, though, it seems as if you have to use a masthead safety line, because you need a point higher than the end of the cantilevered beam, to catch you if you slip. In addition, you will want the main halyard, and you'll need people tending both of those lines' tails, and then you "climb" the beam with your arms and legs, and when you get to the end of it, slack the one line and hoist the other till you're positioned where you need to be. If heights bother you, don't look down, look to the horizon or at the job.

Or, hire someone to do it. It can be hard to ask for help with stuff, but you still take responsibility for doing stuff when you hire it done, even if it feels a bit like a cop out.

Ann

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

a) hire a "cherry picker"? (box on a crane to move you up there)

Seriously, though, it seems as if you have to use a masthead safety line, because you need a point higher than the end of the cantilevered beam, to catch you if you slip. In addition, you will want the main halyard, and you'll need people tending both of those lines' tails, and then you "climb" the beam with your arms and legs, and when you get to the end of it, slack the one line and hoist the other till you're positioned where you need to be. If heights bother you, don't look down, look to the horizon or at the job.

Or, hire someone to do it. It can be hard to ask for help with stuff, but you still take responsibility for doing stuff when you hire it done, even if it feels a bit like a cop out.

Ann

Ah. I am missing some of those key ingredients. The whole reason I want to go out there is so I can run some halyards, put on my wind instruments, tricolor, etc.

The great part about the whole operation is it’s very safe. If I drop I only go for a swim lol. So there are no real penalties involved other than embarrassment and getting wet.

It sounds like you’re picturing shimmying out to the end? Using hands and legs? I was hoping to do it sitting in a chair somehow. Using sophisticated rope setups that maybe rock climbers know or some technique I’m not aware of.

At first I was thinking two loops. Take pressure off one, advance it, tighten up, take pressure off the other, advance it, tighten up, repeat indefinitely until at the end.

But there are so many obstacles in the way on the mast I am wondering if this will work. I don’t want to get stuck out there ha ha

It would be great if I already had a halyard or something to just clip a carabiner on and slide myself out to the end somehow.

Maybe just getting out there somehow, and then setting up the line underneath the mast so that I can slide back and forth.

Here’s a picture of what I was envisioning. But the first step seems to be the hardest ha ha

[Chotu]

Actually, just putting things into the forum is pretty helpful. Another idea might be to go from the dinghy. And just go directly up using block and tackle to lift myself vertically

[Jammer]

I think if I were going to do it I would use a couple of fliplines and work my way out, one flipline from the harness, one from a leg ascender or something. Fliplines, usually made of single braid with a stainless steel core for stiffness and weight, are easy to get over hardware like that.


Otherwise if you can pull a line over the end of it from a dinghy you can use ascenders.

[Chotu]

I definitely had to Google a flip line. I have whatever I have on board so I don’t have that kind of specialty equipment, but I certainly could get some weight onto a rope.

I could probably block and tackle my way up from the dinghy.

Once I’m out at the end I can string up a line running from the masthead act so I can slide out on it later. And the second line to pull on. That might work really well

[Captn Caveman]

I do have some technical rock climbing experience, and here's an approach based on how you can safely ascend a fixed rope using only some additional cords.

Two ropes, both of which should remain tied on at all times. Rope A: One end tied to bosun's chair, the other goes up to the (horizontal) mast, loops around it and is tied off to itself - loop should have enough slack to pass over obstructions when unweighted. Rope B: identical to rope A. The trick is that you are only going to hang from one rope at a time. To do this you will need two smaller cords/ropes (rope A1 and B1), one end tied to the bosun chair and the other tied in a friction knot such as a prussick to the corresponding rope (A or B). It will help (and is pretty much required) to have a loop hanging down from each (A1 or B1) that you can step in as well.

In operation, say you are weighing down the A chain. B is slack and can be easily moved along the mast. Once in position you remove as much slack as possible via B1, then step in the loop for B1 and weigh it down. The A loop should now be unweighted and you can loosen A1, move A along the mast, then tighten A1, step down on its loop, and then transfer weight off of the B loop. Rinse and repeat.

[s/v Jedi]

Doesn’t sounds different than yards, yardarms for square rigged sailboats so you should be able to traverse it just like those real sailors do

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Doesn’t sounds different than yards, yardarms for square rigged sailboats so you should be able to traverse it just like those real sailors do

Yes, but where do those ropes come from? I don’t have those lol what do I stand on? I have nothing but a pole.

I also have to work at the very tip. The mast head. I am doing all of the masthead components.

So I would have to tie some kind of extra thing up there to stand on. As you can see on the yard arms, the rope is tied to the very end. So you couldn’t stand there. I would have to make some loops like Capt Caveman introduced to the discussion

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Captn Caveman

I do have some technical rock climbing experience, and here's an approach based on how you can safely ascend a fixed rope using only some additional cords.

Two ropes, both of which should remain tied on at all times. Rope A: One end tied to bosun's chair, the other goes up to the (horizontal) mast, loops around it and is tied off to itself - loop should have enough slack to pass over obstructions when unweighted. Rope B: identical to rope A. The trick is that you are only going to hang from one rope at a time. To do this you will need two smaller cords/ropes (rope A1 and B1), one end tied to the bosun chair and the other tied in a friction knot such as a prussick to the corresponding rope (A or B). It will help (and is pretty much required) to have a loop hanging down from each (A1 or B1) that you can step in as well.

In operation, say you are weighing down the A chain. B is slack and can be easily moved along the mast. Once in position you remove as much slack as possible via B1, then step in the loop for B1 and weigh it down. The A loop should now be unweighted and you can loosen A1, move A along the mast, then tighten A1, step down on its loop, and then transfer weight off of the B loop. Rinse and repeat.

Thank you for the response! I was really hoping someone with a climbing experience would post.

This is pretty much my first idea but I threw it out immediately because I didn’t think I would be able to get the loops to go over all of the hardware on the mast. However, with the leg stepping part you are describing, which is something I hadn’t thought of, I think this would be very workable.

It would especially be really good to get out to the end to set up some other ropes that I can use in a different way. So I can get back-and-forth more quickly.

You know. Like I will forget a tool when I am out there and have to come back or something.

And then there is the matter that I have to rig some sort of towel or blanket underneath where I am working so I don’t lose everything into the water. Ha ha. That one I can figure out.

[fxykty]

Working at height is a PITA and forgetting a part, or tool, or dropping stuff, or having to go to the bathroom, is the least of it.

Is there any reason that you can’t move the mast 20’ so that the top isn’t overhanging your front beam?

If you can’t move the mast, how about moving the boat so that the end of the mast is over a dock, or over a car parked on a beach, or some other structure?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Working at height is a PITA and forgetting a part, or tool, or dropping stuff, or having to go to the bathroom, is the least of it.

Is there any reason that you can’t move the mast 20’ so that the top isn’t overhanging your front beam?

If you can’t move the mast, how about moving the boat so that the end of the mast is over a dock, or over a car parked on a beach, or some other structure?

Change the rules of the game. I like it!

But Yes. It weighs 450lbs and requires 3 guys to lift and move it at the least.

The top is 20ft out aft beyond the boat.

There aren’t any places to park cars on the beach and that is prohibited in the Northeast in general. There is only one or two beaches that I can think of in the country like that. Unfortunately. But, there are docks. Since the docs here are all floating, and they are low to the water, you would need to use step ladder on the dock. So you are still working at a height. You are just not hanging from it.

But maybe some variation on this could work. Difficult however. Moving the boat into places is a real difficult chore just as much as working in the high place is. It takes all day to lift the anchor and move the boat somewhere and account for tides and all of that. I could be done the work by then is the only thing.

Certainly I appreciate the post and the idea to think outside the box like that. There might be some thing else I can do along the lines of what you are suggesting. I will try to figure it out.

[Chotu]

I’m kind of liking Jedi’s yard arm idea though.

That picture looked pretty good. Just walking out to the end on a rope. Standing there. Working with your head above and leaning on the mast.

Seems very comfortable compared to hanging below it. I’m picturing holding a drill up there above my head from a bosuns chair and pressing hard above me with the drill as metal flakes drop on me. That’s no good. The arms give out. Stuff gets in eyes.

So once I do get out to the end I think I’m going to run a line back and somehow kind of square it off at the end. I guess I will need a spreader type of thing to do that. That way I can walk across the mast all at the same level and be above the work I’m doing

[Chotu]

Taking that one step further, I could put a 2 x 4 out there and hang it off of the very end of the mast going 8 feet back in the other direction.

That would give me something really nice to stand on while I am up there working.

[Carlos M]

Originally Posted by Chotu

But there are so many obstacles in the way on the mast I am wondering if this will work. I don’t want to get stuck out there ha ha



It would be great if I already had a halyard or something to just clip a carabiner on and slide myself out to the end somehow.



Maybe just getting out there somehow, and then setting up the line underneath the mast so that I can slide back and forth.



Here’s a picture of what I was envisioning.

Isn’t there a sail track in that mast? Just roll the mast so the track side faces down.

You’ll have to climb out unsecured the first time to reach the track gate and slide in a couple of sliders. But you are at low height over water…