Topic: mast climbing
I just wanted to have my experience posted for those who are considering going up.
I have read the previous threads on the subject and now wanted to add my direct experience
for which there is no substitute.
I needed to retrieve a jib halyard and try to fix the anchor light which has never worked,
even though the mast was redone by a good pro. I found a guy who weighs 160 pounds
(given the previous reading done on this site I knew my own 230 was going to be problematic)
he had a standard bosun's chair, and I winched him up on the little lewmar on my mast.
He (Brian) has a lot of sailing and mast climbing credentials and was very matter of fact about the whole
thing, his attitude was very helpful for the project. His instruction was go slow and talk to me,
we'll talk it out as we go along.
I had him halfway up and an experienced bystander offered to tail the winch for me, which help
I gratefully accepted.
The whole thing went off without a hitch as it were and the main thing I learned was that even though
in theory I as the winch grinder was the main motive power, the liftee did as much if not more of the
work than I did by helping the process with his own hands and feet, even though he was confined in the chair.
Brian (the liftee) was Smart enough to use the retrieved halyard as backup when coming down, even though it was never needed.
There was not too much swinging even though we did not do anything to prevent it by way of tying the boat up
in any certain manner. In the case where the helpful tailer and I stood on the same side of the deck we got a slight heel going but never a swing or pendulum action.
In the case of Brian he said he had been up the mast in smaller boats and he never considered going
up on mine a problem at all. He commented on the physics that even at the top of the mast, his weight was a lot less than the force generated by a strong breeze on a full main and he is right.
Physics lessons are better observed in real life than described in a book and this one was no exception.