Furling advice needed

[MiVelero]

I'll try again with a different title.
No one answered my original post... I must have peed off someone
Not even SD telling me to google it...

Ok,
I need to replace my furl halyard swivel assembly...
I plan on using the halyard to bow cleat to temporarily take place of stay load. Climb to top of mast using main halyard secure stay with a line to mast.
Pull pin, undo take out old put in new and re secure stay.

Sounds simple.... BUT, would the halyard be suficient to secure mast while stay is removed ? Remember my butt is hanging at the top of same -55ft to bottom hard surface .
Any words of wisdom or encouragement? Any surprises await that I am not aware of?
Should this be done by the pros? I would like to do it my self as a learning experience and things I need to know.

Your advice or ideas would be appreciated..

[knothead]

Originally Posted by MiVelero

I'll try again with a different title.
No one answered my original post... I must have peed off someone
Not even SD telling me to google it...

Ok,
I need to replace my furl halyard swivel assembly...
I plan on using the halyard to bow cleat to temporarily take place of stay load. Climb to top of mast using main halyard secure stay with a line to mast.
Pull pin, undo take out old put in new and re secure stay.

Sounds simple.... BUT, would the halyard be suficient to secure mast while stay is removed ? Remember my butt is hanging at the top of same -55ft to bottom hard surface .
Any words of wisdom or encouragement? Any surprises await that I am not aware of?
Should this be done by the pros? I would like to do it my self as a learning experience and things I need to know.

Your advice or ideas would be appreciated..

Yes, a good halyard should be fine to hold the mast while you climb up to remove the stay.
Just to feel better about it, you can take an extra piece of line and throw each end of it over the spreaders and secure them forward.
On a deck step mast the extra step would provide a little extra security.

[sailingdog]

Provided your halyard is in good shape, and cleated off properly and tensioned enough... yes, it should work. I would highly recommend thoroughly checking the halyard for damage and chafe before doing anything else.

Securing a second halyard, say using the spinnaker halyard, as a backup might also be prudent...

It also depends on how big your BUTT is... if you're 350 lbs... all bets are off... if you're 90 lbs... then the second halyard is probably superfluous.

BTW. was at the marina most of the day.

[MiVelero]

Thank you for your responses gents....

As for the halyards, I just replaced all sheets and halyards 4 months ago, these should be fine.
As for my butt... well maybe 130lbs including harness, tools and after a good meal.

Terminal velocity ???
As you can tell my fear is the mast faling off... Its a good thing I have no fear of heights
Parts are on order the swivel is $350
Any other ideas or things to look for are welcomed.
Thanx

[sailingdog]

Use a second safety line... and use a safety strap around the mast... this will help prevent you from swinging and getting bashed against the mast. Have fun.

[jgeissinger]

I can speak from first hand experience. I have done exactly what you are talking about. We used both the jib and spin halyard as a safety feature. The mast didn't budge with my 210 lb (at the time) 20 year old in the bosun's chair at the top of the mast. We had to remove the complete forestay to get the foils off and fix the problem, and so we replaced it at the same time as well.