Climbing your Mast - Fremantle Sailing Club

Climbing Your Mast
Rob Hills
FSC Cruising Section
Disclaimer
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I am not an expert
What I do is “safe enough” for me, it may not be
for you
I am responsible for my safety when aloft, you
must be responsible for yours when you go up
Demonstrations
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Top Climber
Climbing Equipment (ascender, grigri,
karabiner, harness)
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Webbing Ladder
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Bosun's Chair
Safety
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Falling from a mast can be fatal
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Use safety line
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Suspect and check all equipment
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Snaphooks etc are fine for sails, not for bodies
– use knots
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Don't climb if you're not comfortable
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Practice in perfect conditions
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Seek expert advice
Safety Line
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Separate Line, independent of your main
climbing line/mechanism
eg: adequately secured halyard, second
halyard attached to bosun's chair.
Set up so you can never fall more than 1-2
metres
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So, for bosun's chair, safety line must not be
allowed to go too slack
Safety Line - 2
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One method: Static Line + Klemheist Knot or
Grigri
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Static line – secured top and bottom. Eg
halyard
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Attach Grigri or Klemheist Knot and slide up as
you climb
Types of Gear
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Purpose Designed Mast Climbers
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Rock/Cave climbing equipment
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Rope Techniques
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Bare Hands
Purpose Designed Mast Climbers
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Bosun's Chair + winch
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Permanent Mast Steps
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Ascenders
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Marine
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Climbing
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Webbing Ladders
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Rigid Ladders
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Self Hoisting devices
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Rat Lines
Bosun's Chair
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Probably most common
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Strengths
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Cheap
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Simple
Weaknesses
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Require two people (including strong grinder)
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Often uncomfortable
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Difficult to access top of mast
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Unsafe without safety line
Bosun's Chair - 2
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Improvements
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Use safety line (eg with Klemheist Knot)
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Use Anchor winch or other motorised winch to
assist
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Mast climber can actively climb and be tailed
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“Better Mousetraps”? eg Brion Toss Bosun's
Harness
Links
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Brion Toss Bosun's Harness (scroll down page)
Permanent Mast Steps
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Various types, Aluminium, SS, plastic!, fixed/folding,
removeable
Strengths
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No setting up
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Simple
Weaknesses
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Windage
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Weight aloft
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Can snag lines/sails
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Use hands to hold on instead of do work
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Easy to be unsafe (climbing without safety line)
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Holes weaken mast?
Permanent Mast Steps - 2
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Safety
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Pricing
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Combine with bosun's chair (+ winch grinder) or
safety line to improve safety/comfort
$15-30 (or more) per step
Links
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Plastic
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Removeable
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Ally - foldup
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Google Search
Ascenders - Marine
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Top Climber – the one I use (there may be others)
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Strengths
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Flexible – climb any mast (including friend's) or
even forestay
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Single handed
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Access to top of mast
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Feels secure – don't swing around
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Hands free to work at destination
Weaknesses
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More effort than fixed steps or being winched!
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Foot loops hard on feet (need stout footwear)
Ascenders - Marine
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Safety
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For best safety, should probably use a safety
line as well
Pricing
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US$430 (excluding rope)
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Add cost of good rope – I use 10mm Spectra
Link
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TopClimber
Ascenders - Climbing
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Lots of options - Climbing shops can advise
best
Mountain Designs Fremantle
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Eong (“Yong”) Tee 9335-1431 or 0402 426-888
I have:
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Ascender + Karabener + loops for feet
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Grigri + Karabener for waist
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“Recreational” adjustable climbing harness
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6mm line + Klemheist knot for safety line
Ascenders – Climbing - 2
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Strengths
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Probably safer than many other options
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Lightweight and very portable
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Comfortable
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Cheaper than marine gear
Weaknesses
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More effort than steps/bosun's chair
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More options and complexity → need to practice
Ascenders – Climbing - 3
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Pricing
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Varies with gear – my setup is ~ $440:
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Adjustable Recreational harness $150
Petzl ascender $90
Petzl grigri $140
2 x good Carabeners @ $30 each
Look for “loyalty” discounts (eg at MD)
Links
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Mountain Designs
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Google - Climbing Gear
Webbing Ladders
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Typically hoisted up mast track
Can hoist outside track (secure to deck and
hoist)
Webbing Ladders – 2
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Strengths
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Unattended climbing
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Familiar, simple concept (ladder)
Weaknesses
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Unsafe without separate harness/safety line
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Fixed length – may be too short for a friend's
mast (strength?)
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If you can't hoist outside the mast track, can't
use it to sort jammed sail
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Can be hard on feet (need stout footwear)
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Without separate harness, hands are holding on
and not available for work!
Webbing Ladders - 2
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Pricing
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Depends on mast height – US$240 to $395 (or
US$12 per foot) – excludes safety harness
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Can be custom made locally – maybe cheaper
Links
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MastMate
Rigid Ladders
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“Prime Climb” and “Swiss Tech” - may be others
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Strengths
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As for Webbing Ladders
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May feel more solid than Webbing
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Easier on feet than webbing
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No halyard required
Weaknesses
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Unsafe without separate harness/safety line
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Must use mast track – no use if sail jammed
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Fixed Length (can buy more bits to extend)
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Without separate harness, hands are holding on and not
available for work!
Rigid Ladders - 2
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Pricing
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Depends on mast height
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From $US240 (27' mast) to $US685 (47' mast)
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Excludes P&H and safety harness
Links
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Prime Climb
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Swiss Tech
Self Hoisting Devices
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Hoist a “winch” to the top of the mast
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Use endless rope to winch yourself up
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Eg SwissTech Mastlift
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US$1375 to $1625 excluding P&H!!!
Ratlines
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Strengths
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Old as the Tall Ships!
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Simple
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Relatively cheap
Weaknesses
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Unsafe without separate harness/safety line
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Windage
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On most rigs can't reach top of mast
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Need hands to hold on instead of to work
Bare Hands
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Masts are often not as difficult as you'd think to
climb “bare handed”
Extremely unsafe without harness/safety line
backup
May be useful in an emergency
Try practicing in ideal conditions with
harness/safety line, or with bosun's chair and
someone tailing on the winch
Tips
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Have plenty of halyards on your mast
Consider cheap “halyard keepers” to protect
little-used halyards
You can climb the mast safely and enjoy the
experience so long as you're comfortable
To be comfortable you need to be safe, don't
skimp
Some of the best mooring views/photos are up
your mast!
Useful Links
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Bill Deitrich's Mast Climbing page
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Lots of useful links
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Lower down on the page, Cruiser discussion
about pros/cons of various devices/techniques
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Cruising Resources "Going Aloft"
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Mast Climbing Knots (esp Prusik Knot)
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Wikipedia - Klemheist Knot