A friend of mine has something called a "MastMate", which is a webbing ladder that fits into the slot for on the mast for your mains'l. (I don't think a rope ladder would be very safe without some sort of stabilizing system.) I have used it a couple of times, and it's fine as long as you are in shape to climb a 40 foot ladder each time you go up, or come down to get something you forgot the first time. If you have a helper, they can send tools up if needed, and could use a second halyard as a safety line, and lower you to the deck if you did fall.

When I am alone, I use one halyard to pull the MastMate up the mast, and then run another halyard from the masthead to the deck next to the mast. I tie a prusik knot around the second halyard and a short tether from that to the climbing harness I use if I'm hauled up the mast without the MastMate. You can slide the Prusik up and down the second halyard as you climb. I admit that I wouldn't be able to slide it if the MastMate failed, and I'd be stuck hanging by the second halyard. But at least that's better than falling onto the deck or into the water.

There is also a product called an "ATN Mast Climber" that uses climbing ascenders attached to a bosun's chair and a foot loop to let you climb a halyard by yourself. I have never tried one, but I'm sure someone else here could speak from experience.

 

Steps. First addition to our big boat. Seems I use them at least once a year.

 

I fitted fixed steps to both my masts and have carbine hooks on two short tethers from the bosuns' chair. I hook to the next step up, then unhook the other and move up. It's slow but safe. If I have a helper to tail a halyard on a winch I can climb straight up in a jiffy. Yes, they increase windage, but everything is a trade-off on boats.

 

No, it is not. If you fall on the tether, at the time of maximum slack, it will almost certainly rip the step off. There is much industrial experience on the forces involved. It would be MUCH safer to place a rope grab on another halyard (then there is some stretch).

Take a 16-inch drop against a tether, tied to something strong, if you can find something strong enough. In fact, start with just a few inches, so you don't hurt yourself. Climbers have broken 4500-pound carabiners and slings in this way.

 

A Mast Mate is quite practical. It takes about 1 minute per 20 feet, less with practice. I use a Goblin on a safety line.

 

Climbing is really not for big guys. Most of the gear is only rated to 220 pounds, including clothes and gear. Climbers aren't big, as a rule.

 

I've used an ATN Mastclimber for over a decade now, and I'm certainly not a little guy, and never in great shape. While I wouldn't call it easy or fun, it's really not too hard. And it allows you to work on top of the masthead.

It's basically a couple of climbers rope ascenders attached to a proper bosun chair. This allows me to go up solo, although I usually have my partner managing a safety line. One could run a safety line and slide a prusik knot along if need be.

 

Funny that ATN does not list a weight limit (or do they, just not on the site?). With climbing gear it is implicit in the standards. 80 kg (176 pounds is the drop test mass and anything over 115 kg (250) generates a lot of failures. OSHA gear generarlly goes to 310 pounds, but it doesn't work out as well for the big guys. The limit is always listed on the gear.

ATN's statement that it is the only solo system that allows you to work above the masthead is baseless. I'm in the top steps of a Mast Mate. The straps around the masthead are just for extra stability and leverage.

 

Funny that ATN does not list a weight limit (or do they, just not on the site?). With climbing gear it is implicit in the standards. 80 kg (176 pounds is the drop test mass and anything over 115 kg (250) generates a lot of failures. OSHA gear generarlly goes to 310 pounds, but it doesn't work out as well for the big guys. The limit is always listed on the gear.

Hmmm, good question. I'm not sure if it's listed on the equipment. I'll have to look the next time I pull it out. So far, so good.

 

A friend of mine was killed recently falling from the top of a mast.

I pay someone to do this dangerous job for me. 😊

 

A friend of mine was killed recently falling from the top of a mast.

I pay someone to do this dangerous job for me. ?

It seems that if I do get back into owning a sailboat again I will be paying a rigger to go aloft, I tried the mast climbing gadgets the ATN I couldn't do it my legs are just too weak and I'm too fat, so I guess I'll have to rely on the old ATM to pay for services rendered. I do hope I'll be able to find the right professionals when I do need them.

 

My condolences for your friend.

Can you talk about what the failure was?

Aloft work need not be dangerous, although I see a dangerous practice in the above photo.

If I am seeing clearly the user is relying in the base of the tri color to restrain the straps. I understand that they are there for stabilization, but that leads to difficulties/. You want to get that extra inch so you put more weight on then when it fails bad things happen. So it is a temptation hard to resist at times.

I also can get over the top of my mast though I rarely do it. But I have two pair of steps, one at the normal top position and another a foot higher. At that level my harness attachment point is above the halyard sheave. I have two straps around the mast, BELOW the top shroud connections. They are there to A) provide an extra level of fall protection and B) so that I can lean back and have both hands free.

Many moons ago I did some very small amount of work pole lines; wood and also steel I beams. We climbed the steel with “skates” which clamped to your boots and had elongated tips with 2 hard rubber rollers. Yes brought your heel up to raise or lower the skate. You quickly learned to not reach too had for something else you would release the skate and it would slip. Kinda gets your attention.

Once, in unusual circumstances, I saw a for “old” (40?) foreman climb a pole without skates. Pretty impressive. He grabbed the pole and just walked up 25’, thats some strong arms. I w him he was nuts, but I said it with great respect.

 

... although I see a dangerous practice in the above photo....

I seriously doubt that, since you cannot not see everything from either angle, but please elaborate.

 

Even though I've got steps to the spreaders never use them to work on the mast. Very uncomfortable and tiring to work standing in the steps and have to lash myself to the stick to do anything that requires two hands. Always use the ATN Mast Climber or climbing gear with a harness. Don’t need help or waste other people’s time when up the mast, can swing out to spreader tips, around the mast to work on all sides and both hands free to do what I’m up there for. In

 

My experience as well Roverhi. The other nice thing is that the Mastclimber's bosun chair is very comfortable. I can hang there for hours if need be without getting tired. Often when doing some longer work I'll sit back and take a rest for a while before getting back to it.

 

Notice in post 6 that I add wide pads on the leg loops. Nothing fancy, just exercise tile foam and ducts tape. With the padding, I can stay as long as I need, and I've been up there a good while installing lights and instruments. Tower climbers and professional riggers use this sort of padding. A standard climbing harness is murder after 10 minutes.

And advantage of the ladder type is that you have a good place for both feet that is secured to the track. Better leverage.

Assuming you have a good safety line set-up and a good rope grab, you can still go the the spreaders, etc. No difference there.

They all work.

 

Tower climbers and professional riggers use this sort of padding.

Years back, I bought a real tower climbers harness. This one, in particular, which can easily be found for less that 3M list price.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000432572/

The thought was for more stability, if ever needing to go up the stick offshore. I now can't recall why I ever used the standard chair at all. These have all the padding and you're fully secure in the chair. You could pass out, at the top of the mast, and stay in the chair. I believe slipping out of the chair to be more likely than rigging failure. The safety line is secured to the center of your back, not your waste, which is a big deal if you'd like to walk again shortly after the fall. They are darn pricey, but I considered the cost of the failure and it seemed like a bargain.

Prior to this, my go-to method was a lift line on a standard bosons chair and back up halyard going through a figure 8 (with ears), attached to a standard climbers harness. I could lock off the figure eight aloft and still be able to let myself down, if there was a problem. Just this year good friends of ours were doing work at their masthead. He was aloft and his wife was operating the winch, from the cabin top. It was an awkward angle to see around the dodger and she accidentally got her finger jammed in the winch, while he was aloft!! Scary. She got it out herself, but ended up at the emergency room. Thankfully, just some stitches.

 

It's often remarked that one could assemble an ATN Climber system using standard climbing gear and do it for a lot less than ATN charges. I've never priced it out this way. Perhaps you could comment PDQ?

Regarding the challenge of climbing, one key factor is to ensure your climbing line is as taut as possible. And using a low stretch line really helps. I've not tried it with a no-stretch dyneema style line. I wonder if they are too slippery. Anyone had any experience here?

Otherwise, it's really not much harder than climbing the equivalent height of stairs. If you can walk up the height of your mast using stairs, you can probably use one of these climbers.

 

One of the advantages of the ATN system is that the ascenders fit larger ropes. Most climbing gear is focused on 9-11mm.

Yeah, you can do it cheaper with top quality gear. Many climbers already have the stuff. If you really want to GO FAST... I saw this set-up on a Vendee Globe boat. Of course, he used all French components.

Rope Walking 101
Westspur

 

Rope walking looks like a really nifty system for quickly going up the mast. The problem I see is it's overly complicated for an occasional user and the equipment is going to be expensive. My Grigri based climbing system that uses a lot less hardware than the Rope Walker wasn't cheap. It is also less complicated but still took a revue on YouTube to figure out how to set it up for my once a year or less use. Besides the seat which is super comfortable, the ease of set up and use are definite positives for the ATN Mast Climber. Don't think ATN sells the seats separately but that is so Cadillac comfortable that it's almost worth buying the system just to get the seat. Only negative is it's so comfortable that I find myself just hanging out in Zen meditation when I use it to climb.

I'm 76 and not at my High School weight but have no big problem using The ATN and rope climbing equipment. Not fast going up but make it to the mast head without breathing hard.

 

Mike O'Reilly sez: "... one key factor is to ensure your climbing line is as taut as possible. And using a low stretch line really helps."

That's also my experience with it. A stretchy line sags you so much you have to pull yourself up with your arms, neutralizing the main advantage of the Mast Climber, which is using your big leg muscles to push yourself up. I find an oversized halyard cranked real tight is what it takes.

 

Exactly. And another thing, DON'T do it like the ATN website shows. The images show the climbing line strung on an angle. This just makes it a lot harder. The best thing is to make the line as taut, and as vertical, as possible.

This way, as Attikos just said, you're mostly using your big leg muscles to basically step up all the way to the top. If you string the line at an angle, or it is too stretchy, then you're having to use your arm muscles to pull yourself along. This is waaaay more tiring.

 

I'm still curious about using no-stretch line like spectra or dyneema. Has anyone tried this?

I've always used a dedicated low-stretch line, but it's nothing fancy. A low-stretch Sta-Set I think. I tie it (not shackle) to a halyard that goes over the masthead sheaves, and then hoist this line. I crank it in as tightly as I dare using a mast winch.

 

PDQ,

Thanks for clarifying your precautions.

A less experienced reader viewing the picture may have deduced something else, hence my comment.

 

Yeah, I tend to over look what I see as commonplace. I've been rock climbing most weeks for over 40 years, including twice this week. I'm still doing it because I use backups and check my work!

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Re. rope walking, it really is that fast and that effortless. I've done 150 feet at that pace without stopping, and I'm not a kid.

Yes, it is way too much gear, but re. Vendee Globe boats:

• They have a LOT of mast! At least twice what we have, and more.
• When rope walking you can hold onto the mast and rigging with both hands. I'm guessing that is a big advantage underway in a rough sea. The foot and leg ascender s are totally self-tending.

But nothing to do with my reality. The only times I have used this gear are 45 years ago caving (long vertical holes, sometimes hundreds of feet) and more recently in testing. Not on rock or sailing.

 

My halyards are Dyneema/Spectra cored with a Dacron outer sheath and work great. Climb on 5/16" line on the 28' boat and 7/16" on the 35' boat. Don't know how well the Mast Climber or climbing gear would work with a bare 12 plait Dyneema/Spectra line. The bare exotics are quite slippery so would want to test going up as well as down before I very ventured very far up the mast.

Have always winched the climbing line taut when using the Mast Climber. Have climbed with the line loose when using climbing gear largely because the first time I used it had to work on the tip of the spreader. Had to have the line loose to swing out to wire the shroud to the spreader.

ATN Mastclimber | Single Handed Bosun Chair | Climbing the Mast

Climbing the mast has never been easier or safer. Single handed bosun chair that allows working above the mast without leaving the chair.

www.atninc.com