masthead wind indicator repair

[Guest]

I remember a story from Outward Bound , they lost all masthead halyards, so sent the spinnaker pole up on a fractional, then flipped it upright (how?) and hauled a man up to the top of that and he could reeve new main halyard. Sounds like a bunch of fun in the Southern Ocean.

[Murky 1]

Ah, the memories are flowing now...is this all in order to convince Khayyam that the only acceptable approach on a boat the size of a 727 is to free climb to the top of the rig, smack in a new pop rivet with a fingernail, open a Steiny with the eye socket and then throw in two somersaults on the dismount for a score of 9.8?

[NevP 0]

A word of caution from a climbers perspective.

 

I would NEVER use a fractional halyard to climb to the top of a mast!!! (Even if it is only a backup) Falling in this situation could be potentially worse than not using a safety line at all. Better to make sure your primary line is bomb proof.

 

When climbing with a "static" safety line (a 'static' line is one with no stretch, eg a halyard) you should NEVER climb to a position where you can fall any significant distance (even 1m can cause serious injury). It may not seem intuitive but because you will come to a sudden stop at the bottom of any fall the forces involved are huge even over short distances. In the same way, any backup line used should not be allowed to have any slack for the same reasons.

 

By comparison a standard climbing rope is "dynamic" (ie it stretches) and can stretch up to 40% of it's original length. This acts as a shock absorber when a climber falls after climbing above their last anchor (which they obviously need to do to make any upward progress).

 

In industrial situations, where static line or tethers are often used when working at height, a shock absorbing device will be fitted in-line to the harness.

 

I also agree with tying the halyard directly to your harness/bosuns chair with a bowline (or re-threaded figure- and would not use any type of shackle unless there was absolutely no other option. Even a carabiner is not a good option, the less points of potential failure the better. Not sure how I would tackle a wire halyard but would be triple checking any connections very carefully.

 

Sorry if i sound like a nana. Us climbers are very particular about the bits of string that keep us from hitting the ground.

[smithy09 50]

A word of caution from a climbers perspective.

 

I would NEVER use a fractional halyard to climb to the top of a mast!!! (Even if it is only a backup) Falling in this situation could be potentially worse than not using a safety line at all. Better to make sure your primary line is bomb proof.

 

When climbing with a "static" safety line (a 'static' line is one with no stretch, eg a halyard) you should NEVER climb to a position where you can fall any significant distance (even 1m can cause serious injury). It may not seem intuitive but because you will come to a sudden stop at the bottom of any fall the forces involved are huge even over short distances. In the same way, any backup line used should not be allowed to have any slack for the same reasons.

 

By comparison a standard climbing rope is "dynamic" (ie it stretches) and can stretch up to 40% of it's original length. This acts as a shock absorber when a climber falls after climbing above their last anchor (which they obviously need to do to make any upward progress).

 

In industrial situations, where static line or tethers are often used when working at height, a shock absorbing device will be fitted in-line to the harness.

 

I also agree with tying the halyard directly to your harness/bosuns chair with a bowline (or re-threaded figure- and would not use any type of shackle unless there was absolutely no other option. Even a carabiner is not a good option, the less points of potential failure the better. Not sure how I would tackle a wire halyard but would be triple checking any connections very carefully.

 

Sorry if i sound like a nana. Us climbers are very particular about the bits of string that keep us from hitting the ground.

Ahhh Nev. You'll never make any good stories up that way! I like Murkey's idea. Just let me know when you do it and I'll be there with the score cards!

You are right though. It was just that it looked easy standing on the deck, and not very far to free climb after the forestay, but once I got up there... Different story! Couldn't back down then though!!!

[Guest]

definately endorse that nevP said about ropes and knots - would go with the double figure 8 if poss over the bowline (prob just personal preference)

 

IMHO bosuns chairs scare me a little - def prefer the climbing harness. went up the mast on a 50 footer half way back from fiji once when the fittings on the roller furler broke (thank you cutter rig for holding up the mast )....motoring up into the 2+m swell and the diesel tank ran dry...side on to swells not that much fun. you can imagine the bruises

 

d

[SloopJohnB 322]

One year in Constitution Dock, Hobart, a couple of french guys swung from mast to mast of all the boats right around the dock.

[G Force 0]

Was sailing in the Waikawa regatta 4yrs ago on Whistler a Y88.At the top mark the team pulled the topping lift up the mast without any thing on the end, every one looked at me so i free climbed up and retrieved it then slid down the front face (to get back to trimming) in my haste i forgot about the ring for the kite pole !!!!!! That doubled me up for a wee while.

[khayyam 68]

i like how this thread has degenerated in such an entertaining way! certainly lots of good tips, and lots of things to avoid!

[PaulR 3]

One year in Constitution Dock, Hobart, a couple of french guys swung from mast to mast of all the boats right around the dock.

 

Another Hobart year in above Dock (1970, 71?), and a lot of Cascade beer later, or earlier, one of Syd Fishers's crew from Ragamuffin, the navigator I seem to recall, simply walked to the bow, and when hand over hand went up the forestay to the masthead, stood on the top, had a beer, and hand over hand down the backstay to the cockpit where I was sitting. It was his standard party trick. Most impressive.

 

Going up in the Southern Ocean is fine. No problems until they decide to tack and have a cross swell wobble the boat a bit. Relative calm on deck but a 100 feet up, small movements are multiplied into wild arcs.

With a little encouragement in a loud strong voice, disputing all the cockpit's crews parentage, I encouraged them to tack back again ASAP, which happily they did fairly quick. Mind you I could see a long way from up there!! but no land, but still much futher than most boats even today.

 

Best Tip: send somebody LIGHTWEIGHT up, and underpaid, undernourished rigging apprentice is just the right size!

 

Wal's comment about the gantry is good advice. With all the ferries, I would not encourage going up whilst moored near Devonport. Motor across & tie up there next to the gantry and at low tide, it would be very easy to pull the mast over 30 to 40 degrees and reach the top safely whilst standing on the pier.

 

We took a 727's mast out & back in there a few years ago and no problems.

[Guest]

One of the advantages of being 100 kg. Being able to say "Are you gonna pull me up there? Now get the harness on and start climbing"

I was involved in retreiving a masthead halyard on a gaffer a few weeks ago. No winches or clutches focuses the troops on the task.

[Guest]

Might pay to mention here no yacht halyards are 'dynamic' (bar a few sad bastards) and more and more are made from fibres that hate knots. All climbing ropes are made with being knotted in mind where more and more yacht halyard ropes aren't. Some of the newer fibres lost most of their strength if you knot them, especially with bowlines.

 

Use a shackle and make sure it's done up tight then wrap some tape of it to stop it snagging on anything. 8mm shackle or bigger.

 

Ever watched them lift a few tonnes of building products, often over the top of many peoples heads, up some sky scraper? More often than knot, it's all hanging there from a shackle.... unmoused, hand tightened by some dude from West Akl with a big hangover thinking about his pregnant 16yo girlfriend while also pondering what shade of matt black to paint his Holden.

 

Was replacing the halyard in a 30fter in Westhaven last year. The owner was LARGE so I managed to get him to stand midships and knot move. I was up the top and his family arrived, who are also LARGE. 2 of the buggers decided to hop aboard, I got smacked into the rig of the boat in the berth next door, the one on the other side of the finger. "Oui what the f*ck, get off!!!". Waaaaaaa.... both jumped off and I got the boat on the other side. I'm sure that mast now has very nice dents that match the grip of doom I had with my legs When I came down they organise a late breakfast, toast and Plum Brandy at 10am. Wasn't too bad actually

[Murky 1]

Toast and plum brandy being the national breakfast of...Chechnya?

[khayyam 68]

thanks for all the tips guys. i think the plan will be to check out the gantry; barring that, hoisting someone up while anchored somewhere without ferry wake!

[smithy09 50]

Ever watched them lift a few tonnes of building products, often over the top of many peoples heads, up some sky scraper? More often than knot, it's all hanging there from a shackle.... unmoused, hand tightened by some dude from West Akl with a big hangover thinking about his pregnant 16yo girlfriend while also pondering what shade of matt black to paint his Holden.

 

Your best bit of prose yet KM. Bloody brilliant. You are getting up to Wheel's standard of wordsmithery there!

[Guest]

Toast and plum brandy being the national breakfast of...Chechnya?

Yeap, judging by the accents it's somewhere there abouts. Home made Brandy stuff it was.

 

 

khayyam - pop up to Z pier, there abouts, Westhaven and do it there. A safer option than running the risk of a Riv screaming past at 25kts.

[Murky 1]

One final thought Khayyam: apparently back in the day, the Town Basin bridge in Whangarei at low tide used to be the spot for doing mast maintenance. i.e. without needing to involve any halyards or harnesses.

 

I realise the situation with the Auckland wharves is not nearly so welcoming...wondered what the situation would be with somewhere like Chelsea though, for a quick visit. A little lean on the 727 and the masthead would come right to your hand. Swapping out the windex should be easy under any circumstances but if you ever get involved with pop rivets as mentioned earlier, or drilling and tapping new holes...

 

Although it is good to be familiar and confident with going up your rig.

[khayyam 68]

One final thought Khayyam: apparently back in the day, the Town Basin bridge in Whangarei at low tide used to be the spot for doing mast maintenance. i.e. without needing to involve any halyards or harnesses.

 

I realise the situation with the Auckland wharves is not nearly so welcoming...wondered what the situation would be with somewhere like Chelsea though, for a quick visit. A little lean on the 727 and the masthead would come right to your hand. Swapping out the windex should be easy under any circumstances but if you ever get involved with pop rivets as mentioned earlier, or drilling and tapping new holes...

 

Although it is good to be familiar and confident with going up your rig.

 

yes, though it's hard to be confident when you haven't yet seen the main halyard block!

 

i wondered about something tall at low tide, but didn't think of chelsea. anyone had a sufficiently close look there to know?

[Guest]

We used to pull the Zap over on it's side

... but make sure your battery is sealed or remove it first

 

Mind yew we had nothing in our boat to send everywhere

 

i think this is exactly what we're trying to avoid!

 

on a lightweight 1/4 tonner there is more common sense in the Wals method than meets the eye, webbing strop round the hounds and heave it down ,after battery and fuel tank removed, mast head is at waist level when you've finished and pretty easy to hold down and while you're at it give the bum and keel a wipe over, spin it around and repeat and the floating dock has just lost a customer, and if was good enough for captain cook surely, with a little forethought, it'll not be beyond the family frightener.

Oh and free climbing at sea.......use boots and walk up either the wires or pull a couple of halyards tight, preferably away from the stick, and walk up them, you'll be surprised how easy it is energywise to walk up and being away from the stick sure saves a pounding

[NevP 0]

You'll never make any good stories up that way!

Hopefully I'll still be around to tell them tho.

Might pay to mention here no yacht halyards are 'dynamic' (bar a few sad bastards) and more and more are made from fibres that hate knots.

Yeah, I should have emphasized that halyards are definitely not dynamic, hence my no climbing above the halyard block policy. Didn't factor the halyard fibers might not like knots bit tho. I might have to reconsider my anti-hardware stance for "tying in". I'd still want to make sure any connector (shackle) was up to the task and in good nick first.

[rigger 47]

i wondered about something tall at low tide, but didn't think of chelsea. anyone had a sufficiently close look there to know?

 

here are some pics - taken in 2007 so might be a little dated, the steps were closed at the time not sure if they are ok now, though there is a ladder on the end dolphin, you would need good fenders and permission of the refinery.