CLIMBING THE MAST USING A MASTLIFT

[ANTREVELL]

I have been looking at ways to climb the mast.
There is a product called a Mast lift by SWI.tec Very expensive . Has anyone had experience of this product . Or any other suggestions .
I went on a high altitude course to try various systems  but none of the group got on very well with the equipment available .
It comprised mainly of equipment that involved  standing on rope loops and moving jammers up the mast . I felt something that I could pull myself up with might work better and be easier.

Regards Tony

[Yngmar]

When the mast was down to renew the standing rigging, I've also installed Dutch made folding mast steps made of glass reinforced nylon. They have a max. load of 140 kg per step, but each step only weighs 165 g. Bought from Calibra marine, who also supplied the matching monel rivets. I've riveted them on myself with a lazy tong riveter (had to make a spacer to fit the nose into the step) and protected with Duralac. Total cost was around £400 and I'm very glad I did it. Now I can go up the mast solo, slipping a prusik knot up and down for safety.

The main benefit is that now it is easy to go up, jobs up there no longer get postponed indefinitely. The hardest part was figuring out where to place the steps (especially with in-mast furling). The steps are unobtrusive when folded up and do not catch halyards or howl in the wind like rigid steps do.

[Lyra]

Yngmar - can you provide a bit more info regarding your installation (photo?), mainly regarding the position of the steps, which you mentioned should be considered for an in mast furling system.

[Mirror45184]

Fairly energetic I know but I use a Grigri (https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Belay-devices--descenders/GRIGRI-2#.VwnT3Jx96Hs) and a Basic Ascender (https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Ascenders/BASIC#.VwnUQZx96Hs) from Petzel. the Grigri goes on to my harness and the Basic goes on the rope above the Grigri. The rope is taken from the grigri to a pully suspended from the Basic. a foot strap is also connected to the Basic. By the way when climbing I have a dedicated rope which is moused in rather than use a halyard which has been abused!
To climb the mast it is a process of sitting in the harness on the Grigri, lifting the Basic up the rope (with the foot loop), standing on the foot loop while pulling down on the rope below the basic. this pulls the Grigri up to the ascender. Then repeat. The advantage of this system is that the Grigi is self locking and a descending device so coming back down can be done safely.

Cheers
Mark Hutton

[Salty]

Or you can use a mast ladder which fits into the sail slider groove on the back of the mast and is hoisted up using the mainsail halyard. Made by George Deffee whose web site is http://www.deffees-yachtmastladders.co.uk/
Beware of someone claiming to have taken over the business from George Deffee, the last I heard it was not official and would deprive George of his only income. If you choose to buy one of his ladders, make sure that the length you specify will reach all the way down to where you want the bottom rung to be, and make it clear on your order that it's where you want the bottom rung to be placed.
With the ladder in position you simply climb up to where you want to be, secure yourself in place, and I use and clip on to what I think is called a Petzl ascender attached to the spinnaker halyard while I'm going up as this follows me up and would hopefully stop me from falling far if I slipped.

(It's not the fall that does the damage, but the sudden stop when you get to the bottom 🤕).

[Yngmar]

Yngmar - can you provide a bit more info regarding your installation (photo?), mainly regarding the position of the steps, which you mentioned should be considered for an in mast furling system.

The trick is to avoid drilling into anything important. This includes halyards, cables and the furling sail chamber. Look up your mast profile in the Selden manuals (and/or peek into the mast with a snake cam, mobile phone taped to a folding rule or eyeballs to confirm) so you know where the cables run. For mine it was a non-issue, as cables run in a channel in the center, no chance of drilling into that. Halyards are easy when the mast is down - just drill from the top and gravity will ensure the halyards are at the bottom, far away from your drill. Plus most of them are replaced with mouse lines anyways, although you shouldn't drill into those either. Trickier when the mast is up! Use a drill with a depth limiter or safer, a stopper sleeve on the drill bit.

For the in-mast furler, you mustn't drill into the sail chamber of the mast extrusion at all, not even a little bit, or you will leave a sharp burr that will shred your sail to bits next time you furl/unfurl. Conveniently, the Selden mast is marked with a thin groove where this safe zone is. I nonetheless carefully measured about 8 times just to make sure. This however means your steps are going to be a fair bit forward, about in the center of the mast (giving you the option to climb up the front or the back). Below the gooseneck you have to figure out where to put the 1-2 steps there to avoid interfering with control lines, but as there is no sail there, you can safely rivet into the furling part.

The vertical spacing between steps for me is 50cm, which I've worked out by repeatedly stepping up and down a chair at home while stacking various things under it. This should work for most people according to the rigger, but if you're a bit short-legged, test it first. You don't need steps at the spreaders, as they're fine for standing on (near the mast base). You may or may not want a step at the boom - I didn't put one and it's a bit awkward getting past it unless I release the outhaul and tuck the clew of the furling sail away a bit. As the spacing between spreaders is not exactly divisible by 50cm, you'll end up with the steps 48.73cm apart in one set and 49.3cm in another. Don't worry, nobody can tell looking from below

Once that is done, the rest was simply drilling (cobalt bit to match the rivet size, cutting oil, rags to wipe off oil) and riveting (Duralac, rags to wipe off sticky yellow stuff). Mind the Duralac, they're not joking when they claim it's water proof once cured. Great stuff to protect metals from corrosion, not so great on the crotch of your trousers (it's yellow, and it'll never wash out...)

Here's a snap looking up the mast:

[Lyra]

Thanks for the detailed description.
Seems from the photo that if you go on the same vertical line as one of the factory installed cleats you are safe.
When you say 50cm I assume you mean distance between two steps on same side - so that is a step of 25cm  (as far as I remember a recommended step for mast ladders is 25-35 cm. )

[Yngmar]

Thanks for the detailed description.
Seems from the photo that if you go on the same vertical line as one of the factory installed cleats you are safe.
When you say 50cm I assume you mean distance between two steps on same side - so that is a step of 25cm  (as far as I remember a recommended step for mast ladders is 25-35 cm. )

No, it's 50cm between steps. Unlike a rope ladder, there's nothing wobbly and you use your hands to pull up half your weight, so it's not a problem. Suggest you do the chair experiments to confirm this is suitable for you though. I've worked out the 50cm by chair and they worked fine for me on the mast.

[Mirror45184]

So that would be 50 cm between the steps on one side and the step on the other side is offset up by 25 cm. The only issue I have with mast steps is the number of holes and therefore stress raisers put in to the mast. Folding steps do reduce the windage however they are still a point where sails and halyards can snag/chafe. There is the other point that they are always there and therefore subject to corrosion etc. The only way to inspect these and ensure they are in good condition is by climbing them! So I still prefer the rope and ascenders.

[Salty]

.......... Unlike a rope ladder, there's nothing wobbly and you use your hands to pull up half your weight,

There's nothing "wobbly" about a Deffee ladder, indeed it's quite the reverse. Readers will notice from the photos in my previous posting that the ladder uses three webbing tapes for its vertical strength, and with each tape being fixed to each step throughout the length of the ladder. Not so obvious other than to the keen eye is that between each step on the middle tape there is a sail slider attached which runs up the groove in the aft side of the mast and which prevents the ladder from being in any way wobbly. In addition to that, the bottom ends of the side tapes can be secured to convenient points on the cabin roof, around the boom or whatever such that the ladder is very easy to climb, it does not sway out if the boat is rolling or pitching, and is anything but wobbly. What it does avoid is having to drill holes in the mast with consequent risk of damaging anything within the mast such as halyards or electric cabling, neither does it reduce the strength of the mast because of any drill holes as one reader fears, and it doesn't leave fittings behind which another reader has suggested could result in halyards or sails being caught up and causing damage. It can be handled and managed by a single person on their own, though for safety reasons I would not recommend going aloft without someone else being present. You do need to be reasonably fit as muscles in both arms and legs are used when climbing the ladder such that by far the best way to get aloft and not feel the least bit tired when you get there is in a Bosuns's chair, and preferably one that has been hoisted by an electric winch, and where that demands a second person to be present. Needs must, and as I sail mostly on my own, the ladder will get me there if I feel that keen to go up.

[Yngmar]

So that would be 50 cm between the steps on one side and the step on the other side is offset up by 25 cm. The only issue I have with mast steps is the number of holes and therefore stress raisers put in to the mast. Folding steps do reduce the windage however they are still a point where sails and halyards can snag/chafe. There is the other point that they are always there and therefore subject to corrosion etc. The only way to inspect these and ensure they are in good condition is by climbing them! So I still prefer the rope and ascenders.

It's 50 cm between steps on either side, 100cm between steps on the same side.

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Three small holes in a triangle shape do not significantly affect the mast strength. The steps are rounded outside when folded, so nothing snags on them. They're not subject to corrosion either, being made of glass reinforced nylon. As also already said, the Monel rivets are bedded in Duralac, which is better stuff than whatever Bavaria/Selden used on the original mast fittings in 2001 and none of those have falling out yet (although the kicker/boom fitting was rattling around). When climbing, you ought to take an additional safety line, the same as when you climb with a ladder or get winched up by someone else.

Whether or not steps are right for you mainly rotates around how often you want/need to go up there, and how many crew you have that can assist you with it. Cost is also a factor. Another factor is jobs up the mast not being done when they should because there's nobody around to haul you up or you dread doing it.