Captian's Al's Mast Ladder /Mast Mate
Jim Clark
Has anyone used either one of these products to go aloft. If you have what
are th pros and cons.
--
Jim Clark N5TJZ S/V Wandering Spirit
58 MGA Safety Fast
Freddie the Schnauzer
Thomas Ling
Is this made from the 2 inch webbing? Our mast is 55 ft., I ordered a
25ft. length 1/2 price, easier to store, raise it by one increment. I like
it a lot, go up with little assistance from winch.
Jim Clark
Thomas, Captian's Al's is 1" with pvc rungs and the Mast Mate is 2" webbing
with out the pvc rungs. My mast is 51' from water line which makes it apx
40' above the boom. I will put a tape on it today. Anyway Cap Al's is
cheaper and comes in a 36' standard length. Both had good reviews in PS
with Mast Mate being the winner by a hair. Your input confirms the review
that it is a great help no matter which one I go with. Thanks for the
info.
--
Jim Clark N5TJZ S/V Wandering Spirit
58 MGA Safety Fast
Freddie the Schnauzer
Paul Kamen
I've used a Mast Mate. It's very easy to climb, but the big disadvantage
is that once you're up you have to HOLD ON! It's hard to get any work
done unless you have a good climbing harness too.
Also the obvious - the main has to come down and off, and the steps get
caught in aft lower shrouds unless they're rubber-banded together during
the hoist.
--
fish...@netcom.com
http://www.well.com/~pk/fishmeal.html
-"Call me Fishmeal"-
Chuck Minnich
I have a Captain Al's. It is quite unlike climing a ladder, in that
your weight is not over your feet, but rather hanging off center, in my
case that's a lot of offset. When you get up there you can't just stand
up and put your weight on your feet, but rather have to keep a hold with
one hand. It is best to climb with a bosun's chair and have someone
keep the slack out. Then when you get to where you want, just sit
down. Also, you should have a harness to another halyard.
In deck shoes the little PVC steps kill my feet, again, a weight
problem, so I have an old pair of biking shoes with steel soles that
help a lot.
Overall, I'm pleased.
Jim Clark wrote:
>
> Has anyone used either one of these products to go aloft. If you have what
> are th pros and cons.
> --
> Jim Clark N5TJZ S/V Wandering Spirit
> 58 MGA Safety Fast
> Freddie the Schnauzer
--
Captain Chuck
Remove .NS (NoSpam) in address to reply.
I tried it without and am now swamped. Can't we kill these people?
Chris Dawe
In article <5v7fu9$q...@dfw-ixnews7.ix.netcom.com>,
"Jim Clark" <jim...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>Has anyone used either one of these products to go aloft. If you have what
>are th pros and cons.
to get over here) and I'm entirely happy with it, it's well made and very easy
to use. Doesn't work out of the bag though, you need to have enough slides to
put on it (mine took about 25 for a 35' length) and a little time to connect
each one with the fittings supplied. Took about 15 minutes (I was being very
careful!) and it was ready to go, and I'll never go back to using a chair
again. If you've got a method of climbing the mast that's easy then you'll
probably tend to go aloft more often...amazing what you can find.
Chris Dawe
s/v "Scheherazade"
Larry DeMers
Paul Kamen wrote:
...Hi Paul,
I have used the Mast Mate for three years now, and I would suggest that
you also buy the safety belt/storage belt that they offer. This belt
consists of a double belt..one going around your waist that also has
several heavy duty velcro-closed pockets on it, and one that is to go
around the mast and hold you in position once you are at your chosen
height. They all work very well, and are well built.
True enough, the main has to come down and partially off (until the slides
are clear of the sail track gate) before the ladder can be raised..but the
steps on mine do not get anywhere near the aft lowers. It hoists with no
problem at all..straight up. I had mine built to a requested length so that
I can start to use the steps from the deck upwards, rather than having to
stand on the boom first and then climb.
As neat a device as this is, I have to admit that it is still a "gulping"
situation for me..I have this silly fear of heights that seems to take
effect at the spreaders, and grows geometrically as I climb from there. By
the time I am at the top, I am ready for a shower...then coming down..oi,
that is even worse for me as I have to look down to place my feet in the
loops. Anyone else have this strange fear? How do you handle it?
Cheers!
Larry DeMers
S/V DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~~~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~~~~~~
Chuck Minnich
I do. I handle it by sending my son up. But, since he's not usually
around, I have to do it alone, and it scares me to death. When I was
around 7-10 years old, I used to climb trees all the time. I spend most
of my youth in my grandfather's apple tree. But that was back when my
arms would hold up my weight for more than 30 seconds, so it wasn't near
so scary. Maybe if I lost weight and/or worked out more... The bosun's
chair helps a lot, because every now and then you can sit down and
regain some composure.
Larry DeMers wrote:
>
> As neat a device as this is, I have to admit that it is still a "gulping"
> situation for me..I have this silly fear of heights that seems to take
> effect at the spreaders, and grows geometrically as I climb from there. By
> the time I am at the top, I am ready for a shower...then coming down..oi,
> that is even worse for me as I have to look down to place my feet in the
> loops. Anyone else have this strange fear? How do you handle it?
>
Brad Cote
Larry DeMers <dem...@cray.com> writes:
> As neat a device as this is, I have to admit that it is still a "gulping"
>situation for me..I have this silly fear of heights that seems to take
>effect at the spreaders, and grows geometrically as I climb from there. By
>the time I am at the top, I am ready for a shower...then coming down..oi,
>that is even worse for me as I have to look down to place my feet in the
>loops. Anyone else have this strange fear? How do you handle it?
I have this problem also (although with folding steps). Here's how I
handle it - I put my wife in the bosun's chair and crank!
Brad Cote
Pacific Seacraft 31
Sailing Lake Michigan
Michael Burkhart
Its easy to use a bosun's chair. I have a friend stand on deck & call
me a woosey. I go up to the masthead & don't look down. EASY!
Timburn
If this refers to a system with a web ladder pulled up the mast track,
yes. I bought onr from Boat US about two months ago. I basically like it
very much. I have found that if I send a bosuns chair up at the head I
don't get as tired holding on, Good luck.
Tim DuBon
Richard Gates
I have had my Mast Mate (webbing steps run up the mast track) for four
years. My biggest problem with it is that you have only one hand to work
with while using it. (One hand for the job, one hand to hold on with.)
Unless, of course, you run up a bosun chair on another halyard and can
wriggle into it without falling once you're up as high as you need to go.
I use a safety harness around the mast, similar to phone company linemen,
but I must lean backward to make it effective. This way, I can use both
hands on the job at hand. However, since I wear bifocals and need to get
close to my work in order to see properly, that approach doesn't work too
well for me.
I much prefer a bosun chair, but finding someone willing to wind me up is
another problem.
Charlie Mayne
YPX...@prodigy.com (Richard Gates) writes:
...
>I much prefer a bosun chair, but finding someone willing to wind me up is
>another problem.
I've watched a local rigger that has a bosun's chair, but he hoists up a
line on two halyards (redundancy, for safety) and climbs it while sitting
in the bosun's chair. I haven't taken a close look, but I think he uses
a pair of climbing gear ascenders. When he goes up or down, it looks like
an inchworm, both of his feet stay together.
Cheers,
Charlie
CS30 "Sprite"
--
Charlie Mayne | Motorola Incorporated
char...@pets.sps.mot.com | Microprocessor Products Group
| Austin, Texas 78735-8598
"I am concerned about my memory. But, for the life of me, I can't recall why."