Climb mast - no ropes!

[Benz]

Originally Posted by thinwater

The prusik hitch was invented by Carl Prusik and is not spelled like Prussia. Just sayin'.

Yes, I have done it this way, specifically on 3/4 rigged boats where only one halyard goes to the masthead. Perfectly safe and not overly difficult. Just rig it like a ATN Topclimber, with a harness and foot loops. IMO pulling the mast is a waste of time and effort for what amounts to a routine job, assuming you are OK with high places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Prusik

The irony here is pretty special. While correcting the spelling of his last name you misspelled his first.
But I appreciate knowing how to spell it, since I use it a lot.

[Clivevon]

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

Gee, thats a tough one, isn't it??

Look at it this way. Spend the $225. You'll never forget mousing lines again..

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

$225 dollars. or risk a broken neck, back, leg, whatever... Mmmm..

Gee, thats a tough one, isn't it??

Look at it this way. Spend the $225. You'll never forget mousing lines again..

Depends on whether the OP has $225 and what he has to give up if he spends it on a crane. It's always easy to spend other people's money

[BillKny]

All the cool, amazingly athletic suggestions aside, for us normal people the right answer is to take down the mast or hire the yard crane for 30 minutes to take you up. It will cost $200. And you will have learned a lesson to think before you do something stupid again.

You don't want to die, do you?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Benz

The irony here is pretty special. While correcting the spelling of his last name you misspelled his first.
But I appreciate knowing how to spell it, since I use it a lot.

I did that just for your amusement. Or as Danny Kay sang in Court Jester, "I made a fool of myself!"

[Benz]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I did that just for your amusement. Or as Danny Kay sang in Court Jester, "I made a fool of myself!"

Amusement was achieved. And thanks again for the link.
While we're on origins, do you know the inventor of the MacDonald Brummel? And how are those names to be spelled?

[Atcowboy]

I don't know if you have seen your mast head close up, but there are 4 sheaves for the two factory halyards. The two sheaves for a single halyard are separated by a good 6 inches along the fore-aft axis of the boat. While there are cheek plates to keep lines on the sheaves (athwartships guidance), there is nothing to stop a rope inserted in the back/front of the mast from only going over one sheave and then down into the mast. I used a fid to thread my halyards back over the two sheaves.

$225 isn't bad for crane time if that gets it down and up. I spent $300 this summer doing the same for my '79 CD27 when I replaced my standing rigging. Pulling the mast also gives you chance to inspect the rigging at the mast head, replace wiring, that ridiculous factory steaming light I tried to fix that I should have just replaced when I had the chance... A lot of the wiring on my CD27 is starting to crack (original) and DC wiring is sooooo conducive to setting insulation on fire. Great time to replace the wiring in your mast (I went ghetto and used a molded trailer hitch wiring harness to replace the wiring and the embrittled factory connector).

If you try using prusiks, definitely bring extra line. Early this season I climbed my mast several times this way, but one excursion half way down the knots started slipping. \ I think the weave on the lines I was using for the prusik essentially got matted down after many ascents and descents and they no longer gripped the halyard. Or maybe the halyard got matted. No matter what happened, if I didn't happen to be in my climbing harness with an ATC (belay device) on it I would have been in some hot water trying to get those prusik knots working again.

Best,
AT

[mikebikeboy]

Thanks for all the comments, especially the one reminding me of what the masthead looks like. I do remember when I had the mast down last summer I had to remove the forestay / aft stay in order to easily thread the halyards over the two sheaves. So you might have just saved me a sticky situation where I git all the way up there only to realize I can't easily thread the lines thru.

To the people wondering why I yanked em the reason is because I was originally planning on taking the mast down before installing a compression post. Since, I've thought perhaps I can leave the mast up while I install the compression post, and just loosen the rig a little when I tighten up the post.

Now the $225 isn't looking like such a bad option....

[sck5]

You can rig a safety line by throwing something over the spreaders with a line attached and haul up a safety line that will stop you short of hitting the deck. You might fall quite a distance once you are up past the spreaders but you probably wont break your neck either

[TomLovering]

Find a small boat hoist that at low tide is as high as your mast head. Ride your bosun's chair up on the hoist and put your halyards back. Another solution we used a long time ago was to go up our neighbors mast, heal the boat by winching on a line as high up the mast as you can reach and then re-rove your halyards. I have also lashed a double extension ladder to a mast but you are limited to a 50 mast for that to work. Good luck.

[Randy P]

And.....this is why I sold the sailboat and bought a cruiser......but, seriously guys....low tide in St Louis, MO??? Are there other options instead of climbing up the mast? Are there other marinas that you can get to that have a crane available or can help pull the mast? Is $250 really all that much to spend when your life is at stake? I know, I know, it’s not my money, but if it was.......Reminds me of my first sailboat, a Venture 21 with swing keel that pivoted at the front of the housing and attached to a cable and winch at the back. Long, long story short I managed to miss the pivot hole when repairing some fg around the bolt holes on the housing in the cabin. Pushed (hard) on the boat to get it off the trailer the next day. Sooooo glad I only motored out to our anchorage that day.......Ah, sweet memories of days gone bye............

[GarryD]

Once watched a French girl shimmy up their mast by holding the inner and outer shrouds and straddling the same shrouds with her feet.


Awesome to watch - quicker than any winch or similar system

[Brocky II]

Originally Posted by Benz

Amusement was achieved. And thanks again for the link.
While we're on origins, do you know the inventor of the MacDonald Brummel? And how are those names to be spelled?

Margie McDonald, an illustrator for Brion Toss also.

[Mauruuru]

I'd lower the mast...Once you get up there how you going to reave the lines? If its a desk stepped mast you're going to drop a weighted line over each sheave and try to fetch it through the exit in the mast or are they external lines? (a lot easier obviously)

[StoneCrab]

Originally Posted by Meandercp

I can brainstorm a few more ways:
6. A tree trimming company or utility crew may have a bucket truck available during a slow time that would be available cheaper than a crane. This is probably the safest of all.

This is the best idea. I've done this before, myself.

Case of beer is all it takes if the truck happens to be in the neighborhood.

It doesn't have to be beer, but show your appreciation with an appropriate gift. An offer of a sail outing is also appreciated.

Electricians are the best bet since they are often self-employed, utility companies have too many eyes on them. Sign companies have these trucks.

Alternatively, a Home Depot near me has a towable manlift for rent. Never tried one of those but you'd only need it for a couple of hours, it might be affordable.