aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 My self-ascending gear has arrived! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MartinRF 57 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Keep in mind that those things are not corrosion resistant. /Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,670 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 I want a full report 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 38 minutes ago, MartinRF said: Keep in mind that those things are not corrosion resistant. /Martin I'm not intending to swim with it! I get your point Martin - It will mostly live off-boat and its easy to flush if by some very strange circumstance I find I have to use it in a howling gale and high sea state. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 17 minutes ago, Black Panther said: I want a full report I just tried climbing a tree in the back yard. I should really get to the gym more often... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,278 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Mine way more high tech! But the secret is big loops and decent footware. Lift with your legs.... don't try to climb with your arms! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 707 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 and make sure your climbing line for the prussics is tied off tight at the base of the mast for a good rundown https://l-36.com/mast_climbing.php 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MartinRF 57 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 9 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said: I'm not intending to swim with it! I get your point Martin - It will mostly live off-boat and its easy to flush if by some very strange circumstance I find I have to use it in a howling gale and high sea state. Sorry for being so brief. I was about to leave for work. That climbing HW mostly made from high strength aluminum alloys. A friend of mine owns a Tornado. He is also a climber so knows about this type of gear. He noticed the excellent strength to weight ratio and thought "Why not use this on my boat?" He checked with his brother-in-law who is a pro climber and importer of climbing gear to Sweden. Brother-in-law said "Bad idea". Corrosion kills these alloys in no time and then they crumble under load. Swimming with that gear is probably OK if you rinse it afterwards but storing it in the boat may not be a good idea. I have similar gear for the same reason and I only bring it to the boat when I need it. This is a photo from up my mast: /Martin 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 Thanks Martin, your use is exactly what I had planned Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 10 hours ago, Island Time said: Mine way more high tech! But the secret is big loops and decent footware. Lift with your legs.... don't try to climb with your arms! I'll be using a prussic as a safety,, but I wanted something that looks more positive for climbing! I watched a few videos of people using just prussics. My sphincter puckered. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Psyche said: and make sure your climbing line for the prussics is tied off tight at the base of the mast for a good rundown https://l-36.com/mast_climbing.php that was the video that assured me it was do-able. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 25, 2022 Author Share Posted November 25, 2022 Set up a practise rig on the deck at home. Good thing. I got stuck at the top (only about 60cm off the ground) from a failure to think about how to go down. Sorted now, and Mrs A only chuckled a bit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,278 Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 On 24/11/2022 at 8:05 AM, aardvarkash10 said: I'll be using a prussic as a safety,, but I wanted something that looks more positive for climbing! I watched a few videos of people using just prussics. My sphincter puckered. Ok, that pic is not entirely accurate. It's an English prussic. I've found they can slip on occasion. So I changed to a French prussic, which only locks in one direction, but you can't fall up! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harrytom 671 Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 19 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said: Set up a practise rig on the deck at home. Good thing. I got stuck at the top (only about 60cm off the ground) from a failure to think about how to go down. Sorted now, and Mrs A only chuckled a bit. Mrs A better have the video rolling when you go up.Hmm coming down can faster than you think. A few yrs ago now we had a kite jammed at the top.Yep hoisted up ,no problem,decent yes well when you have a crew you have had a couple and let go of the halyard.Trust me its a quick decent in the dark. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem 506 Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 In a previous life, when I was much younger, I spent a lot of time climbing mountains and for a while was an Apline instructor. So have had quite a bit of exposure to Prussicing in extreme environments. Prussic's are very iffy on technical ropes, eg, if the rope you are climbing has a Dyneema outer then using a prussic could result in death. Prussic's are hopeless on iced up ropes, probably won't occur on a boat for any one reading this... But keep it in mind. More importantly on a boat, be aware of wet ropes. Wet ropes can also greatly reduce the friction. This includes the line you are climbing and the Prussic line. The classic prussic, shown above in IT's first post, is hands down the best for ascending and descending a rope. Even if you are planing on escaping the system at the top of the rig and using a descender, you need to consider that you may have to down climb one day. The French prussic, in the second image, is not great for ascending because the fisherman's knot works its way up around the rope, creates less friction and can easily cause a run away, if not managed carefully. It only likes going one way which is down. This prussic is best used as a backup when decending, eg, in case you let go of the rope. The best prussic for ascending is the Klemheist Prussic. It's similar to the French, but does not suffer from the roll over risk. But it is hopeless for descending because it hates going down the rope. (which makes it the best candidate for ascending). So if you have any doubt if you can escape the system and transfer to a descender, then I could not recommend the Klemheist. There's another Prussic called a Belchmen (sp?) it's also very good for ascending but you have to be well practiced on the lines you are intending to use to know that it will work for you. Your Prussic rope should be 60% to 70% the diameter of the rope you are climbing. 6mm works well for 10mm ropes. The one bit of advice I would give to anyone is to try it out. Having done a lot of prussicing in the past, I know that I absolutely do not have the fitness levels required to get to the top of my very short mast... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,670 Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 I take the halyard forward to the anchor winch and Angela presses the button. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 11 hours ago, Black Panther said: I take the halyard forward to the anchor winch and Angela presses the button. Sadly, our anchor winch is a vertical shaft type complete with gypsy and direct feed to the anchor locker. Also, Mrs A might feel herself inclined to leave me dangling for an afternoon or longer. Trust issues. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 27, 2022 Author Share Posted November 27, 2022 5 hours ago, Guest said: What’s wrong with a topclimber? https://topclimberinternational.com/shop/topclimber/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAj4ecBhD3ARIsAM4Q_jEU4li-tNdDv9ELTWM8_YbV4L90LfSodSXXTrh-1dazf1jmHpHRo9UaAqbHEALw_wcB Used mine at least half a doz times. Seems ok. Stitching is a little sketchy. And watch the nuts on pins, they undo. Well, its six times the price of my rig and not as versatile (if I sell mine, it can go rock climbing, abseiling tree pruning etc). Outside of that, not a lot that I know of. People should make their own choices. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,278 Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 On 26/11/2022 at 4:51 PM, CarpeDiem said: In a previous life, when I was much younger, I spent a lot of time climbing mountains and for a while was an Apline instructor. So have had quite a bit of exposure to Prussicing in extreme environments. Prussic's are very iffy on technical ropes, eg, if the rope you are climbing has a Dyneema outer then using a prussic could result in death. Prussic's are hopeless on iced up ropes, probably won't occur on a boat for any one reading this... But keep it in mind. More importantly on a boat, be aware of wet ropes. Wet ropes can also greatly reduce the friction. This includes the line you are climbing and the Prussic line. The classic prussic, shown above in IT's first post, is hands down the best for ascending and descending a rope. Even if you are planing on escaping the system at the top of the rig and using a descender, you need to consider that you may have to down climb one day. The French prussic, in the second image, is not great for ascending because the fisherman's knot works its way up around the rope, creates less friction and can easily cause a run away, if not managed carefully. It only likes going one way which is down. This prussic is best used as a backup when decending, eg, in case you let go of the rope. The best prussic for ascending is the Klemheist Prussic. It's similar to the French, but does not suffer from the roll over risk. But it is hopeless for descending because it hates going down the rope. (which makes it the best candidate for ascending). So if you have any doubt if you can escape the system and transfer to a descender, then I could not recommend the Klemheist. There's another Prussic called a Belchmen (sp?) it's also very good for ascending but you have to be well practiced on the lines you are intending to use to know that it will work for you. Your Prussic rope should be 60% to 70% the diameter of the rope you are climbing. 6mm works well for 10mm ropes. The one bit of advice I would give to anyone is to try it out. Having done a lot of prussicing in the past, I know that I absolutely do not have the fitness levels required to get to the top of my very short mast... After reading this, and re-looking at the pic, the french prussic pic I posted isnot right either! This IS the one I use, and not had issues with, Very similar, but a little different! Always thought that was a French prussic! Learn something new every day I guess! You do need to get all the weight off it for descending, but that's pretty easy with foot loops. I use four. One shorter one at chest level on the harness/bosuns chair, two foot loops, and another to the safety halyard from the harness/bosuns chair. easy to stop for a rest then! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkash10 1,056 Posted November 28, 2022 Author Share Posted November 28, 2022 this has been very useful - thanks everyone for the input. The ascending is not bad - I need a second foot loop instead of just one, but other than that it seems good. I will probably get a dedicated descender. I've used the old figure 8 style before, but will likely go with the knucklebone looking type for the reasons given in the video that Psyche posted. I'm not brave enough to think I can do it on a prussic alone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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