The mast swayed gently at the slip as my wife sang in a full-throated voice. Her feet kicked off the mast as she called out "Way-hey, and up she rises!" The sound soon brought one of our power boating neighbors around to watch my wife dangle ten feet up the mizzen mast in a bosun's chair. Finally, he turned to me and asked, "This is one of those sailboat things, isn't it?"
Going up the mast is, indeed, one of those sailboat things. Our original boat was a trailerable MacGregor 25, where I could drop the mast to the deck if I needed to work on it. With our 45 foot Morgan Ketch, Rockhopper, I can no longer bring the mountain to me – I have to go to the mountain. Actually, I usually send Suzanne to the mountain.
Early on, we made an agreement. She would go up the mast if I would go over the side. I do not suffer from a fear of heights, but I do have a certain fear of falling, which is not exactly the same thing. For example, I can ride in an airplane, even a small one, without any discomfort, but if I have to stand on a ten foot high roof, I get uncomfortable quickly. Suzanne weighs about half my 270 pounds, so I can hoist her significantly more easily then she can hoist me. Finally, and most importantly, Suzanne loves going up the mast.
Going aloft requires good equipment and safety procedures. It doesn't hurt to enjoy heights, either.
And there are many reasons to send her there. Whether you are clearing a jammed line, inspecting rigging or weather gear, or adding equipment such as a radar reflector or a radar array, the ability to safely go aloft is important. But proper gear and procedures are a must.
Going up the mast can be a potentially life-threatening experience and should always be treated as such. A fall from a height of even 10 feet onto a fiberglass deck or wooden pier can result in broken bones and concussions. Dropping into the water between the boat and the pier adds the possibility of drowning.
You therefore need to observe certain basic safety conditions at all times, and consider extra steps to improve your chances of coming back down in one piece.
SUPPORT YOUR WEIGHT
The first and most obvious safety precaution is to ensure that the gear you are using will support your weight. This means that the bosun's chair you are using, the line that you are attaching to it and the winch you will use for hoisting must be in good condition and adequately sized. Inspect the chair to ensure there are no obvious failures in the material. The bosun's chair that came with Rockhopper had a large hole in one side where something had melted through the material. While it would "probably" still hold Suzanne's weight, this was not the standard we chose to risk her life on. That chair went out and a brand new Harken chair replaced it.
When you consider the weight to be lifted, ensure you are counting not just the rigger, but any tools and parts they may need to take along. For example, installing a radome halfway up the mast can call for an additional 20 or 30 pounds of equipment and gear, not an inconsiderable factor. All equipment should be attached to the chair by line, so that if it drops, it doesn't fall all the way to the deck.
The line you use to lift the chair will usually be the mainsail halyard, except in the not-unlikely case that the halyard is jammed and that is the reason for the trip up the mast. Whatever line you use, you must take into consideration its strength and condition. Generally speaking, the tensile strength of new line can be found from the manufacturer. If you don't know the manufacturer, there are several good sources of information on the Internet (see links). Once you have determined the tensile strength of a new line in the size, material and construction that you are using, divide that by 15. This becomes your base working strength. If the line is old or beginning to show signs of deterioration, divide that number in half to determine a safe working limit. Better yet, replace the line with new.
