Deffee mast ladder and Bavaria 30

[livefats]

Has anyone tried the Deffee mast ladder - http://www.deffees-yachtmastladders.co.uk/  - with a Bavaria 30 - or indeed any model with swept back spreaders? I'm in correspondence with George Deffee, and we're concerned whether the 340cm rung would pass the lowers and spreaders. He does have a fractional rig modification, but can't remember providing one for a Bavaria.

Any information gratefully received - as ever!

Chris (Freebird)

[Salty]

Hi Chris,
With the greatest of respect, the measurement of the Deffee ladder rung I think you meant it to read 34cm rather than 340 !! Well I took a look at the spreaders on my B36 from the cabin rooftop, and the photo attached show on my boat that the spreaders at their root are narrower than the dimension of the mast and would help to provide some clearance. Coupled with the arrangement of using sail sliders to secure the ladder to the track on the aft side of the mast, allows the rungs to stand away from the aft side of the mast and therefore provide a little more clearance. In the photo, the lazy jacks nearest the mast are about 40cm apart at the lower end and somewhat wider apart where they reach the upper spreader such that I'm pretty sure that the ladder rungs will easily pass the spreaders without any problem. As the maker of the ladders you refer to, and which I'd not heard of until your posting, they are located not far from where I live, so I'm considering going over to see the setup with a view to purchasing of one of their ladders. I'll let you know how it works out in due course.
P.S. From one now ex-biker to another, why are so many yachtsmen also bikers ?

[MarkTheBike]

...P.S. From one now ex-biker to another, why are so many yachtsmen also bikers ?...

+1; me too. It's the feeling of freedom, uncertainty and unbounded horizons. Well, it is for me.

[Symphony]

...P.S. From one now ex-biker to another, why are so many yachtsmen also bikers ?...

+1; me too. It's the feeling of freedom, uncertainty and unbounded horizons. Well, it is for me.

Much of that can be achieved with a Morgan.......

[MarkTheBike]

...much of that can be achieved with a Morgan.......

hahaha, Yep! Especially the 'uncertainty' bit....!

[Symphony]

No, completely reliable - only uncertainty is the weather. Only had the hood up 4 times in 13 years. motoring equivalent of the fair weather sailor.

[MarkTheBike]

Hahaha, no offense, Symphony, very tongue-in-cheek. Never driven one but always loved Morgans, proper little British sports cars. Brings back wistful memories of Healeys and Rileys, et al. 

[livefats]

Thanks, Salty - you're quite right, and George Deffee has already pointed out my inability to cope with these new-fangled metric measurements! As you say, I suspect that the rungs will pass the spreaders; he's also sent me a sample sail slide just to check that the slides fit the sail slide feeder, and then I'll place the order.

As to bikes, I adopted biking as something to do when not sailing (we're a four hour drive from the boat!)

I'll post pictures of the ladder once we have one.

[Salty]

Thanks Chris, I was just about to contact George Deffee to ask what the stand off distance between the aft side of the mast and the rungs would be, as I also want to place an order with them. I'll mention to him that it was your enquiry that prompted my order.

As for the biking bit, that was initially a teenage thing that dropped by the wayside until my son bought a VFR750 in the mid 90s and I took it up again with a GPZ1100, but after he gave it up I kept going for about four years but it was not so much fun on my own, and in the meantime I'd bought a Bavaria.

[livefats]

Just as an update - onboard Freebird, and the "modified "D2" type" slide that George sent me fits the sail feeder; there's a good 35cm close to the mast track, and as you say there'll be some stand off, so the rungs should fit. I've given George the good news, and look forward to easier mast climbing than the SRT system I've been using up to now!

[Salty]

Hi Chris,
I've taken some more measurements after tying some lines between the mast and the stays to represent the outline of the spreaders, but at deck level, where I can actually take measurements. Allowing for the fact that the root of each of the spreaders is less than the measurement between the front and rear sides of the mast etc., I reckon on my B36 that a straight line across the aft side of the mast would need to be at least 38cm long before it would make contact with the spreaders on each side. If there is any stand off distance between the mast and each ladder rung, it would increase the length that the rungs could be before making contact with the spreaders. On that basis I've ordered a ladder from George Deffee, and have asked him to make it 42 feet in length in order that the bottom end will reach down below the boom far enough for me to comfortably reach the first step.
On one other point, what's that SRT system you mentioned?

[livefats]

SRT=Single Rope Technique. In my previous incarnation as a climber and caver, I did a lot of prussiking up and abseiling down ropes - so I've been hoisting a non-stretch 10mm caving rope to the top of the mast via the main halliard, and using a couple of ascenders. one attached to a chest harness, one to a foot loop, to climb the mast, and then descending using a "gri-gri" belay device. But it's hard work!

[Salty]

Hi Chris

I picked up my ladder from George Deffee last Friday, and tried it out over the weekend between the rain showers. I had him make the ladder 42 feet long, but could have done with an extra rung at the bottom to make getting onto the ladder that bit easier. The ladder fits ok between the spreaders (first photo), where the sail sliders or slugs are attached to the central webbing tape, but at locations between the rungs rather than at them (see the second photo). This allows the ladder to be hoisted and lowered without problem where the extra flexibility of the webbing tape allows each rung to move away from the mast and spreaders at those moments when a less flexible arrangement might cause the rungs to hang up. The same also happens when the ladder is being lowered. Climbing the ladder is quite easy, even for someone has done his three score years and ten. Trying it out, I climbed to the second set of spreaders, but without a safety line, so left it at that and came back down.
The ladder comes with a set of guidelines regarding its use as well as an aertex type of storage bag which allows the ladder to dry out when it gets put away after use. One of the guidelines advises that the anticipated lifespan of the ladder is five years.