I sail 99% of the time alone, and so the first thing I looked at was how to
climb the mast solo.

Borrowed my neighbours ATN Mastclimber, which he raved about, and
subsequently bought one.

Yes I did a fair bit of research and read about folks who built their own,
and was duly impressed at their skills.

My take is that this is a critical pieces of safety equipment, life a
tether, or fall arrest harness, so I opted to leave the design and
manufacturing to the experts.

I always rig a safety line that Is looped around the mast, and then undone
and re-looped as I go past spreaders. Not the safest system, I know, but
will break up the drop height from <>46' to <>15'.

One downside of the ATM. The climbing clutches are hard anodised aluminium
which do a real number on any mast paint or anodisation. Particularly as you
get to the top and it is harder to hold them away.

I spent the winter with the mast out, and did a TOTAL rebuild of everything.
Also sanded off the anodisation and primed with zinc chromate  and
brightsides.

Looked great until the first climb with the ATN, which did a fair bit of
damage.

The next 3 trips were spent repairing the damage, primer, paint. This time I
took a cheap rubber backed floor mat, wrapped it around the mast, and
dragged it up as I went. 

Still thinking of ways  to simplify this work around, as I cant see me even
finding the mat if I have to go up when its blowing snot or in rough seas.

I made about 15 more trips up last summer, with the Loos Gauge to tuning the
rig, and always felt secure.

Some of the Imoca 60 folks use it, so it has a good pedigree.

 

Almost spring

 

John

LF38 

 

 

 

 

From: Ryan Doyle [mailto:ryanpdo...@gmail.com] 
Sent: March-16-17 2:31 PM
To: Patrick Davin
Cc: cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Subject: Re: Stus-List Climbing the mast solo

 

Thanks Patrick and everyone for the warnings and suggestions.  Violet Hour
is a really pretty boat.

 

I just ordered an ATM mast climber for pickup Saturday.

Sent from my iPhone


On Mar 16, 2017, at 12:24 PM, Patrick Davin <jda...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's how I do it: 

https://svviolethour.com/2015/04/22/how-to-climb-the-mast-solo-part-2/

 

https://svviolethour.com/2015/02/28/cleaning-the-boat-climbing-the-mast/
(earlier post with my first attempt; part 2 above has more details)

 

There are many different ways to do it. One of my goals was doing it
cheaply, with equipment I mostly already had. If you're willing to spend
some $$$, ATN mastclimber might be easier.

 

-Patrick

1984 C&C LF38

 

On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 9:00 AM, <cnc-list-requ...@cnc-list.com> wrote:

From: Ryan Doyle <ryanpdo...@gmail.com>
To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2017 11:01:15 -0400
Subject: Stus-List Climbing the mast solo
Hi All,

I need to replace the radar dome on my mizzenmast this weekend.  It's about
22' up.  I'm in solid shape and can climb without a problem.  However, I
have never climbed a mast before, and I have to do this work alone.  I'm
curious if anyone here has suggestions for doing this safely.  Is it
possible, or should I call in a professional?

I'll be down on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, so I'm sure I could
find someone, but I'd rather learn to do this myself and I'd rather spend $
on mast climbing equipment than on a pro.  I'm sure this won't be the last
time I have to do this.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Ryan
Juniper - 1983 Pearson 424 Ketch
(Former 1976 C&C 30)




Sent from my iPhone

 

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