Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

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Michel
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS

Post by Michel »

Well John, even your stories about these high angle/high altitude events give me goose bumps. My mast head is about as high as I dare to go. I did some rock, tower and indoor climbing but I developed a fear of heights over the years. When visiting the Eiffel tower, I stay on the ground. I will make a photo of the mast climbing equipment I use in conjunction with my bosun's chair and would be pleased to hear your opinion about it (mainly about its safety) some time.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

katorpus
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by katorpus »

I'd be happy to do that, Michel.

People die all the time from 6' falls off of a stepladder...the only difference in falling 50' from the top of a mast and falling 2,000' from the top of a tower is the amount of time you have to contemplate your imminent demise.

Things to consider...

ALWAYS have a "helper" on deck. There are all kinds of ways to get fouled up on a masthead (or on the way up or down).

Never climb a halyard, and never ascend in a boatswain's chair on a halyard that's more than 6 months old. The halyard cover is not meant for the abrasion of the climbing ascenders, and the strength of a halyard decreases rapidly with age/sunshine...if you're climbing, use a two-blocked climbing rope pulled up BY the halyard, or, better yet, sew the climbing rope to the free halyard end and pull it all the way through so that all of the stress is on the climbing rope (inside & outside the mast...end to end). You can leave the two sewed together, tie off what would have been the free tail of the climbing rope onto your harness, and leave the sewed together halyard/rope dangling below you as you ascend, then pull it back through, and un-sew it when you're done. You should use a 'static line' (minimal or no-stretch) for this. The dangling halyard makes a handy haul line in case you forget something when going aloft.

If your climbing rope is too short and you are faced with "two blocking" with a halyard or being hauled up on it in a chair and have any concern at all about halyard integrity, then sew a NEW line of appropriate diameter to the free end of the halyard and pull it through and tie off on the climbing line (the knot will then be two-blocked) or tie it to chair so that all your weight is borne by the new line. Make sure there is no more stress on the sewed joint than the weight of the line and halyard. You can then pull it back and "restore" your original (suspect) halyard to service without having to re-splice your halyard shackle.

Unless absolutely unavoidable (like when you've lost one of two halyards by either breakage or having it escape to the masthead), you should go up on one line and have a belay on another, even in a boatswain's chair. You can accomplish this (with enough climbing rope) when climbing (but not when being hauled up) by the previously mentioned method (of pulling the climbing rope through) with a second rope tied (by prusik knot), pulling the knot all the way to the masthead and "two-blocking" it, then cleating off the climbing rope and ascending on the static line. You can "self-belay" on the extra rope by using another ascender attached to your harness and clipped on to your extra line (which is tied off down below) and just move it up the line as you ascend, or you can have someone belay you from below by holding light tension on the tail of the line which has been run through a figure-eight or rack on your climbing harness. Hopefully, they'll be paying enough attention to stop your fall before you get back to the deck if things go south. The latter approach makes it much easier to get back down, particularly if you get tangled up in your rig. You'll need a foot loop or two in your climbing rig in order to have some way to get your head higher than the masthead (since the length of the harness etc woun't let you get close enough otherwise)...

You can climb up and then be lowered back down provided that your climbing line is more than 3 times the mast height with all the extra pulled through the halyard exit plate before you begin. Rappelling down is fun, if you know what you're doing, but this isn't the place to learn.

If you get hauled up in a boatswain's chair on a single line with no belay (in order to retrieve or replace a missing halyard), then rig that halyard as a belay as soon as you get it back in service and before being lowered back down. It's easy to slip out of a boatswain's chair. Invest in a "sit harness"or rig one up out of rope and attach yourself to the chair/rig before ascending..

It's difficult for one person to lower you down and belay at the same time, so the best approach there is for them to work one winch for the line you're on and another for the belay, easing you down to the limit of the belay on the primary winch and then repeatedly tying off and resetting the belay and allowing no more slack in the belay than the distance that you're willing to fall. Both the haul line and the belay should be routed through turning blocks in order to provide the appropriate "approach" to the winches. Cleat the lines when switching your attention back and forth between them. Do NOT simply leave them in the jammer of a self-tailing winch!

This is by no means an all-inclusive "short course" in climbing. It's only intended to get you thinking about things we sailors sometimes take too much for granted... in hopes of preventing the need for your reflection on "what went wrong?" ...from a hospital bed or wheel chair.

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Michel
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by Michel »

John,

Thanks again for your professional instruction. Unfortunately, you got me derailed already in the first sentence.....always get a HELPER! Some of your other advice is also hard to implement if you're in a crisis situation at sea. Imagine my typical situation: Alone aboard my catketch, cruising or racing and halfway between Scotland and Norway (or in mid-Atlantic) and my masthead wind unit packs up.....
My main mast has an internal halyard and an external spare, my mizzen still has the original setup with external blocks and (two) external halyards. Blocks, shackles and halyards are three years old.

Up to now (from your story I now know better) I used two halyards as two static lines. I have two ascenders, one connected to my bosun's seat, the other connected to a webbing ladder/loop for my feet. In that way I kick myself up the mast. The two Petzl ascenders (full handhold, one left-, one righthanded) are also connected to each other with a webbing strap. The ascenders are secured to the rope with carabiners, so I can't take an ascender off the rope when I accidentally open the jaw too far.
Petzl Ascender.jpg
Petzl Ascender.jpg (20.41 KiB) Viewed 6619 times
I also tie a webbing strap around the mast in prusik style as an emergency brake if I might fall down. Every bit of gear is tied to myself with carabiners, no direct knots so it can be released in cases of emergency. I use a mountain style knot (double figure eight) to make loops in the end of rope.

Using climbing ropes sounds like a good idea; I can keep these in their bag inside until I need them and always be sure a have a reliable rope. Remains the problem of the always unreliable shackles in the masthead. The main mast has a top sheave, so that's okay with a reliable rope. I like the idea of sewing the climbing rope to the halyard and pull the climbing rope all the way through.

I bought my abseil eight to be able to rappel/abseil down the mast, but I found it too much of a hassle and therefore too risky to get the eight on the rope and release both ascenders. I would then be hanging from one rope. So I kick myself down in the same way I get up.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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THATBOATGUY
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by THATBOATGUY »

My climbing set up is much like Michel's,

I have mine set up stair stepper fashion rather than inch worm. I also use a rock climbing harness when I use this setup rather than the chair. I may convert to inch worm as I think that while it's slower it's probably safer and easier. I also put a strap around the mast prusic style as a fail safe. I have repelled down (from as high as 70 feet) on a boat in a flat calm marina, I don't think I'd like to try it at sea! :shock: heh heh

Bar none my preferred way of going aloft these days is in the bosons chair, powered up by the 28 volt Milwaukee hole hog with a bit in the winch.

Thread split is eminent!

George
George and Kerri Huffman S/V Marquesa Freedom 40 CC CK Sail MarquesaImage

katorpus
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by katorpus »

Ah...

That set of instructions wasn't for "repairs at sea"...those were the "repairs in a quiet marina" instructions.

Repairs at sea are, of course, handled by whatever means necessary...up to and including free climbing the mast by wrapping your arms around it and using the sail track slides as footholds (no, I've never DONE this, but there was a time in my life that I wouldn't have hesitated to try).

The "good" thing about repairs at sea (unless you're in the doldrums) is that...if you fall, you stand a good chance of landing in the water (tongue in cheek)

My post was more designed as a "caveat" for those of our readers who, never having climbed anywhere in with any gear, might have been thinking...
"Gee, this sounds cool, I'm gonna go get some of this stuff and try it out".

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Michel
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by Michel »

THATBOATGUY wrote:I have mine set up stair stepper fashion rather than inch worm.
George
George, could you explain what stair stepper is as compared to inch worm? I don't like to be an inch worm.
Last edited by Michel on Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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Michel
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by Michel »

katorpus wrote:That set of instructions wasn't for "repairs at sea"...those were the "repairs in a quiet marina" instructions.
John, I figured that, and perhaps we can tap your experience a bit further about getting up and down at sea. My feet are too big for the slides, and they are 2' apart. I know from the America's Cup movie I've seen 4 times on a flight from Amsterdam to Singapore that these guys like to slide down the sail on their backs. And they only need five degrees of heel to do it. They are of course secured by a line and two guys on deck.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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THATBOATGUY
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by THATBOATGUY »

Michel wrote:
THATBOATGUY wrote:I have mine set up stair stepper fashion rather than inch worm.
George
George, could you explain what stair stepper is as compared to inch worm? I don't like to be an inch worm.
I have two individual ascenders hooked to separate foot loops.

George
George and Kerri Huffman S/V Marquesa Freedom 40 CC CK Sail MarquesaImage

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Michel
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by Michel »

Ah okay, now I get it. Inch worm is the contracting-extending movement of a worm's body. But where is your harness attached to? I was planning to buy another ascender, one without handhold, to be attached close to my body, that slides up automatically when I move my body up. Only it requires utmost concentration to descend when you have to open and shove three ascenders in the right cycle. I doubt if my brain can cope with that challenge.
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

Mike Holibar
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Re: Mizzen sheet on F39PHS (also mast climbing)

Post by Mike Holibar »

Hi all,
I was in Wellington over the weekend and wandered into a rock climbing school on the waterfront. Having read the foregoing and realizing that I knew nothing about climbing, other than the team approach to climbing a mast, I asked the guys there to recommend a method where by someone like me with limited upper body strength might climb a single rope to the top of a mast. Once the method was identified I asked them to teach me how to go about it and with not too much huffing and puffing I found I could make reasonable progress. The method involved an ascender above with a foot loop, working hand and foot together to gain height. Attached to the climbing harness by caribiner is a Grigri through which I took up the slack with my left hand. So hand and foot, grigri, rest. If need be the ascender could run on a paralell line and be taken back to the harness as a belay.
I will give it a try for real some time soon. It's a bit slow so it might be wise to take my lunch with me.

I was interested in the discussion about suspect halyards. I am using 12mm braid halyards on the main and 10mm spectra on the foresail. I often use old 12mm braid, like too old and tired to be a good halyard, in my work maintaining mooring blocks. It supports the full weight of the mooring block and chain, close to two tonnes on a single loop through the chain, with no problem. Why would it be dodgy for a 85kg climber?
Mike Holibar
S/V Fyne Spirit of Plymouth (Freedom 39PHS-1989)
Lyttelton
New Zealand

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