Ok, who's been to the tip top of their masts?

Marianna Max · Post by **Marianna Max** » Apr 15th, '06, 16:45

I was winched up to the spreaders today to remove a fouled piece of rigging. That wasn't bad really. Then the plan was to get winched all the way to the top with the repaired bit and string it through the pullies up there.

I got up to the spreaders and then over them and got a bit shaky so the guys brought me back down. I think the shakiness was mostly from the tension of hanging on and trying to "help" pull myself up with the topside part of the halyard and from trying to get it done without first eating lunch but you never know.

Anyway, who's gone to the top and do you have any tips before I try it again?

bottomscraper · Post by **bottomscraper** » Apr 15th, '06, 17:16

I made the mistake of eating a big breakfast of bacon and eggs and I wished I had skipped it! I used the ATN Top Climber which is a bit of work for an out of shape person like me. So my advice is pick a calm cool morning, eat something light like a granola bar and don't forget your camera!

<img width="540" src="http://sailmahalo.com/picture_collectio ... omMast.JPG">

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Apr 15th, '06, 17:48

I thought you meant standing on the mast head like the old flag pole sitters. Then again, I guess they sat. I have only been to the spreaders myself, on our CD-30. It was out on the mooring and I raised myself with a vang tackle tied to a jib halyard to change the bulb in the deck light. I really enjoyed the time spent there. I need to do a trip to the mast head shortly to take care of a couple of things. When we had the Typhoon I raised the mast late on evening and launched her only to realize I had forgotten the wind indicator. I considered going up there to install it myself but was very concerned about the whole boat just flopping over on her side with me at the mast head. I sent my son up who was about half my weight at the time. He had fun and is always wanting to go back up for something. The Typhoon was pretty sensitive about any movement on deck. The bigger boat just kind of sits there. Still a little bit of motion on deck amounts to a great deal of movement at the mast head, Steve.

chasn_sunset · Post by **chasn_sunset** » Apr 15th, '06, 17:57

Had to go up and restring my spinnaker halyard. Way scary on a wobbly mast, DON"T LOOK DOWN!!!!

Scott MacCready · Post by **Scott MacCready** » Apr 15th, '06, 17:57

Hope it's ok to jump in here. by coincidence I'm currently trying to decide the best method to climb my mast. I single hand so having someone else hoist me isn't an option. I'm considering mast steps but really don't want any extra windage than my ketch already has. I was looking at the removeable steps offered by Cape Horn ( http://www.capehorn.com/Mast%20Steps1.htm ) and was wondering what everyone thought of drilling so many holes in our mast and then leaving them open to the weather. Any thoughts?

Troy Scott · Post by **Troy Scott** » Apr 15th, '06, 18:02

Marianna and All,

I've been up there many times over the years. It's always been a chore for whoever had to hoist me up. I'm hoping that when I have to go up next time I'll be able to use my new windlass to hoist myself up. Have any of you used your windlass this way? Does it work well? Any tips?

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Apr 15th, '06, 18:08

Troy Scott wrote:It's always been a chore for whoever had to hoist me up.

When I get tired, I just cleat off the halyard and rest up for a bit.

Bryce Wentworth · Post by **Bryce Wentworth** » Apr 15th, '06, 20:50

I've been to the top of my mast a number of times for various reasons. Really isn't bad and provides a great view of the surroundings.

I use a climbing harness, two ascenders and foot straps. This arrangement allows me to climb the mast solo and is very secure.

Parfait's Provider · Post by **Parfait's Provider** » Apr 15th, '06, 21:54

However, I think that for safety you should never climb alone. Further, for safety you should not climb on the halyard, but on a climbing line that has been raised to the masthead on a halyard. The difference is that if you become disabled while climbing, someone on the deck can lower you. Also for safety, you need a second safety line that can also be lowered from the deck.

Note that if you tie a loop around the mast above the spreaders you defeat the ability to be lowered to the deck.

Just some thoughts after noodling this for a few years.

JimL · Post by **JimL** » Apr 15th, '06, 23:09

...it was ok until a friend hustled over, grabbed a shroud, stepped up on the starboard rail, and said "Whatcha' doin"?!"

I was really swinging, at that point!
[img]http://home.earthlink.net/~leinfam/site ... c00795.jpg[/img]

JimL · Post by **JimL** » Apr 15th, '06, 23:22

Back in Colorado, I had a good friend who lost a halyard up the mast. Seeing as how Carl was our local Harley Davidson dealer, he had some good strong mechanics to winch him up the mast (Carl's a big guy, also).

To make a long story short, his Santana 20 was on it's mooring (1350 lb boat, with 550 lbs of ballast about 2-3 feet below waterline), and Carl made about 240 lbs at the top of a 25' mast.

He was ok until the guys on the winches both leaned to the same side to look up past the boom. He managed to hang on all the way to the water. His 70's something mom nearly passed out from the excitement, as she watched from the dock.

We had to grab her to keep her from collapsing into the water...she was laughing so hard!!

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Apr 16th, '06, 05:43

JimL wrote:He was ok until the guys on the winches both leaned to the same side to look up past the boom. He managed to hang on all the way to the water.

Had they been alongside a dock when they started (or on the boat on the next mooring), the same guy could have just pulled the top of the mast down to him and saved the climb.

Dean Abramson · Post by **Dean Abramson** » Apr 16th, '06, 07:32

The CD31 I just bought has removeable mast steps, very similar to the ones Scott referred to. I am wondering too about all those holes. The previous owner left the steps on all the time. I am thinking about having them on full-time this season, to try them out. If the windage aspect does not bother me, and they don't snag halyards, etc., a lot, I was thinking about putting them on semi-permanently using clear silicon caulk to keep the moisture out.

On the other hand, if I decide not to use them, I am not really sure about what to do about all of the holes. The holes don't bother me aesthetically, but surely water gets in, and I am undecided on whether that is much to worry about. For sure, the water winds up in the boat at the (keel) mast step, and constant dampness in the mast, while maybe not a big minus, surely is not a plus.

No masts are watertight, though, so maybe this is no biggie. How dry do you think the inside of the average mast stays?

Any comments, suggestions? I could put tape over all of the holes, but that would look like hell. I would like to think that it is okay just to leave the holes as is, but there are electrical connections at the mast step, and I would just as soon keep the area dry. What to do?

Undecidedly,

Dean

fenixrises · Post by **fenixrises** » Apr 16th, '06, 08:43

Hi all,

Going up high places, for a person with no experience, is an adventure... or some other word in your choicest vocabulary.

Irving Johnson, of cruiser Yankee fame, would climb up utility poles and do headstands on the top. Of course he started his sailing career as crew on the last of sailing freighters.

During my stint in the military I had the opputunity to attend a week long fire prevention school at a local civilian firefighting facility. On the last day of classes the county received a new 100' ladder truck.

It was brought to the facility so that various crews could be brought in for training and familiarization. The instructors were proudly showing off their new piece of equipment by demonstrating its capabilities. They set the ladder truck up in the middle of the lot and raised the ladder all the way up. Here was this 100' ladder, sticking almost straight up in the sky, not leaning against a building when they asked the students "Who wants to climb it"?

Yes I did. I think my fingerprints and toeprints are still embedded in the rungs. Ahhh the insanity of yoot.

Many years later I went to the top of a BIG mast for the first time. I was about 70' above the water on a 55' boat, at the dock. I was scared spitless!! I was so trussed up with safety lines and backups that I could bearly move. But in a realitively short time I got used to being up there and really enjoyed the experience.

During the numerous trips up and down we found the easiest way to hoist me up was with the capstan on the foredeck. A powered capstan or windlass makes the job very easy but you must make sure that the line you are using has a fair lead to the wildcat. You do not want to have an override.

In the years since I have been up and down many masts in a variety of circumstances. My last boat had a junk rig. The main halyard was a 5:1 tackle so that made it pretty easy to hoist myself in a bosuns chair. When the mainsail was fully raised I could climb the sail itself, all the way to the masthead, since it had heavy duty full length battens and a yard at the top.

I recently pulled myself up the mast on my 28 but just to level of the staysail fittings. I used a 4:1 vang tackle with a camcleat built in and attached to the main halyard. The line on the tackle,100', is only long enough to go to this height.

Because the part of the tackle with the camcleat is the top block I found that it is nearly impossible to release the the line from the camcleat when more than a couple of feet below it. Next time I'll use a different block at the top.

I have generally used a bosuns chair when going up a mast. I think it would always be better to have two people. If one person is cranking a winch, that person should be familiar with the winch and how it operates. An experienced sailor would be ideal for this grunt duty.

If someone else is winching you up the mast it is a good idea to use one of the other halyards as a backup. You pull on it as the other person is cranking. This gives you a bit of a workout, helps the person cranking and means that your backup is always in your hands. Wear gloves!

Think of this in the light of many sailing couples. Who hoists who up the mast? Strength vs. weight. This is something that should be done under less than trying circumstances and often enough so that the people involved are comfortable and familiar with everything that is going to take place.

Remember to take a small tag line up with you, say 1/4" braid. A 5 gallon bucket on a tag line makes a great tool, parts, etc. elevator for that one thing that you, of course(Murphey's Law), forgot to take up with you.

Like many things in life, BE CAREFUL, especially the first couple of times you do this. Take the time to run through a mental checklist and preplan the operation.

To the t'gallants me heartys,
Fred

Clay Stalker · Post by **Clay Stalker** » Apr 16th, '06, 09:37

Hi Dean:

For what it's worth, if that was my mast, I would put all the steps in with some silicone or Polysulfide, and leave them there. They don't look bad, like the holes do, and you never know when you will need to go up the mast, and having them there will be a big plus....and it's not if you need to go up the mast, it's when!!

Clay Stalker

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