Up The Mast...Again

My first attempt at going up the mast I tried using my ascenders and harness and went up to check the deck light that was about 1/3 of the way up.  What I found was a broken wire that I didn't have the tools with me to repair, so I needed to go back up. This time, prepared with the knowledge of what was wrong, I had the crimpers and connectors needed to hopefully repair the light.

While the ascenders were interesting and an effective way to go up the mast by myself, I decided this time I would try to find a helper to winch me up.  Doug, the neighbor at the dock that went on a day sail with me a little bit ago was kind (or was it crazy) enough to volunteer to help and I took him up on it.  Another dock neighbor offered his fancy padded Bosun's char as well, so I decided I would give it a try too.

Doug winched me up on the spinnaker halyard while we used the main halyard as a safety line.  I also rigged up a small block and line so Doug could "hand" me things like the heat gun for the heat shrink on the connector.  Getting to the deck light was less effort for me this time...I think Doug mentioned passing the 6-pack point on the payment scale.  He was also kind enough to take a picture for me.

Heat shrinking a connector while hanging from the mast.

Cutting off the old connector, stripping the wire and attaching a new connector was pretty straight-forward...just needed to be very mindful not to drop anything.  Using the block and line, Doug passed me the heat gun and I was able to heat-shrink things so hopefully it will last a bit longer than last time.  I connected the bulb and had Doug go flip the switch...and...viola...there was light.  At some point I would like to replace the bulb with an LED equivalent, but for now at least the light works so nighttime on the deck should be a little safer.

I couldn't use the spinnaker line as the main line because it does not go all the way up the mast. Like many catamarans, mine is a fractional rig and the spinnaker halyard terminates just above the forestay.  I came down the mast and we re-rigged the lines so I could use the main halyard to go all the way up to the top and have the spinnaker as a safety line.  This also means I needed to go up on the back side of the mast instead of the front.

Going up the back side of the mast was more difficult due to a couple reasons. The lines for the stack pack (main sail cover designed so the sail will drop into the "bag" that makes the cover) go a good way up the mast to help guide the sail into the pack when you lower it and I needed to work my way through them.  The mast also curves back a bit so letting go of the mast will cause you to swing away from it.  Of course, my usual luck with weather also kicked in and a breeze started blowing from the front of the boat as well.  Between the wind and the angle of the mast, I decided to abort the attempt after getting about 2/3 of the way up. I just didn't feel like becoming a human flag that day. In hindsight, I should have rigged a line I could wrap around the mast to keep me next to it.  Guess I at least learned something on the attempt.

So, the small white anchor light at the top of the mast remains out due to reasons unknown, but the deck light is now operational.  As I'm learning about boat maintenance, one out of two ain't bad and I did learn something new for the next attempt.

As a side note...

Now that I've used both a climbing harness and a Bosun's chair, I have some real world experience for a comparison.  The big padded board of the chair is more comfortable.  The big mesh pockets were also a nice feature...but can easily be added to the harness as well.  The chair is a bit more cumbersome to handle on deck...getting in and out of as well as standing up once you are in the chair.  If you try to help the person winching you up by using your legs to climb as you reach footholds, you also tend to slide forward in the chair (I assume I would experience similar problems if using an ascender with foot loops to go alone) and the strap between your legs holding you on the chair can be...um...uncomfortable.  Overall, I think the harness does feel more secure (even though it would probably be quite a trick to fall out of the chair) but the chair is a bit more comfortable.  I think I am happy with the decision I made there...although I may borrow a chair again sometime if someone were to offer and I'm not using ascenders.

Go Climb A Mast

When I was last in Denver, I picked up a rock climbing harness in lieu of a Bosuns chair so I could climb the mast.  At that time I mentioned I had a couple lights that needed to be checked out.  The weather finally improved this week so it was time to go check on those lights.

What I used to climb the mast.

I tried finding some people at the docks that would help winch me up, but it seemed most people decided to go take advantage of the nice weather (I can't blame them) and I was unable to find help. So, I decided to give climbing with ascenders a try.

I constructed a couple foot loops out of some line I had with bowline loops tied to the ends (see...those knots come in handy) and tied them to one ascender.  The climbing harness was attached to the other ascender with a carabiner.  Since I've never done this before, I decided I would just try getting up to the deck light that is about 1/3 of the way up the mast.

My boat is rigged with a halyard for a spinnaker, and that was the line I decided to use.  I rigged the halyard so I could pull it tight and then attached the ascenders to the line.  I put on the climbing harness, hooked the bag containing my tools and a tube of dielectric grease to one of the gear loops, and attached the harness to the topmost ascender. It didn't take very long to figure out that I had made the leg loops a little too long, so I retied the bowline loops (twice) in the process of getting things where it seemed comfortable.

Then began the long process of inching my way up the line.  I stood up in the leg loops, slid the upper ascender up the rope, sat back in the harness and slid the foot loop ascender up.  After doing this once or twice, I stopped and just hung there for a bit.  Figured when I was only a couple feet above the deck was a good time to make sure everything would indeed hold.  A couple minutes looking like I was a new attachment to the boat and I continued my trek up the mast.

After a little time doing my impression of an inchworm, I was at the deck light.  I released the light clips and it didn't take much time to figure out the problem with the light.  Nope, not a burned out light bulb or bad connection...well...guess I could call it a bad connection...a wire corroded through is bad, right?  Of course, I didn't have crimp on terminals or crimpers with me (I didn't know what type of connection I would find on the back of the bulb), so no way I could fix it while I was up there.  Oh well, at least now I know what the problem is...and I also know I can climb the mast by myself if I ever need to.

I also learned that people spend way too much money on gym memberships.  For the money spent, you could probably get a sailboat and have all the exercise equipment you need.  Or just go hang out at a marina and you could probably find someone to pay you to exercise...while fixing their boat.

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the climb...maybe next time...when I can get someone to help winch me up the mast.  In my earlier post about getting the harness, someone suggested that the climbing harnesses are not very comfortable...honestly I didn't feel uncomfortable during all of this, but that may have something to do with being able to distribute weight into the foot loops or just the adrenaline of the whole thing.  I did feel secure in the harness...and that was the primary reason I chose the harness over a chair.

In any case, in the next few days I'll need to go back up the mast with the right tools and see if I can get the deck light working and well as make my way the rest of the way up to check on the anchor light.

Sails Kinda Look Like Mountains, Right?

Pointy at the top, wider at the base, right?  I mean if they can use mountains as the explanation for making an airport in Denver look like a giant, white, big top circus tent, I can surely use this explanation here.

D.I.A image found on the internet.

I own a sailboat.  It has a mast. When installed on the boat the mast sits just over 59 feet above the waterline of the boat.  At some point there will come a time that I will need to fix something at the top of the mast (I actually have an anchor light and a deck light that may need to be changed...but I haven't looked into it yet). There is a device known as a Bosun's Chair that is commonly used for "going up the mast".  In it's most simple form, it is a flat board with lines that give it the appearance of an old schoolyard swing.

A fancy Bosun's chair with safety strap and tool pockets

I didn't really like the idea of using that classic swing type of chair and when my surveyor used a harness to go up the mast on our survey, I decided that I preferred that option.  So, a little while back I started looking for a Bosun's harness.  Going to the trusty Defender web site, which usually has the best prices, I was able to find a harness for about $130.  A bit expensive, but what in boating isn't?  So I decided to do a little research on the harness and see if people liked it.

While I was researching I came across a thread in a forum where someone had asked the same question about the same harness.  One of the replies suggested that the poster should consider a rock climbing harness instead.  He had actually mentioned that he thought the harness was made by a rock climbing harness supplier. A quick Google search on prices of rock climbing harnesses, at around half the price, had me pretty well convinced that this was a good way to go. Hanging on a line attached to a rock just doesn't seem to be significantly different than hanging from a line attached to a mast.

Of course, there were no rock climbing outfitters in Palm Coast Florida that I could find.  I guess there just aren't that many rocks to climb in Florida. Since I would be making a trip to Colorado where rock climbing is a big sport, it seemed like that would be the chance to pick up a harness.

So, once back in Colorado, I went to a couple REI stores looking for harnesses.  Unable to find any help at either store, I was starting to wonder if I would be able to get this mission accomplished.  I was talking with a friend I met through this blog that still lives in Colorado and found out he was a rock climber and we agreed to meet at the big REI store in downtown Denver.  We met and he gave me some pointers on what to look for and we were able to get some help this time.  I tried on a few harnesses and I ended up finding a harness by Petzl that seems to fit the bill.

The Petzl Corax harness.

While most of the harnesses come in small, medium, large, extra large, and extra extra large, the Petzl Corax harness is more adjustable and only comes in two sizes.  This means that the same harness can be adjusted to fit both my wife and I and having one piece of equipment that both of us can use is a bonus. It was also the more comfortable of the harnesses that I tried at the store (REI had a line you could hook on to and try hanging from the harness).  Add in the fact that it was only $65, and it seems like the more sensible safe alternative to the standard Bosun's chair.