[C320-list] raising a bosun's chair

[bruceheyman at cox.net]

When I go up I always seem to bring Murphy with me so no mater how much I plan ahead I always need more!  I've found a bucked left on deck and a 50 foot thin line tied to my belt makes for an excellent way for more tools, parts an snacks to be brought up.
Bruce
Somerset #671 (now on a trailer making it's way to So Cal)
Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless  

-----Original Message-----
From: "Joe Barrett" <joe at dolphinmortgage.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:00:54 
To:<vergaar2004-catalina at yahoo.com>, "'C320-List'" <c320-list at catalina320.org>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] raising a bosun's chair

 Hi Koen, don't forget to bring extra of everything you think you might
need. Tools, screwdrivers, Boesheild or similar lubricant for sheaves ect.
Saves a new trip down then back up.
Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.org
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.org] On Behalf Of Koen Bennebroek
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 11:33 AM
To: catalina at thehares.com; C320-List
Subject: Re: [C320-list] raising a bosun's chair

hi Jeff,

thanks for the recap and your feedback. I plan to try out a couple of things
this weekend while at the boat.


I want to see how hard it is for my other crew to raise me up the mast on
just the mainsheet winch. I also want to try the method of routing the main
halyard forward, over the bow roller and back onto the anchor winch. There
is a cleat there, but I guess that is not designed to have much holding
power, so I'll see if there's something else to be used. If not, this may be
a 3-person only excercise, with an extra person on the safety line.

As for Stan's suggestion of the ascending knot, I think this does require
some practice and since I don't plan to go up the mast on a weekly basis, I
believe this requires a little bit of practice each and every time I go
up...(and I'm not a rock climber).

I like the idea of bringing an FRS radio, especially if the other crew is in
the cockpit. If the other crew is right beneath at the anchor locker it may
not be necessary.

-Koen

--- Jeffrey Hare <catalina at thehares.com> wrote:

> Koen,
> 
>    For what it's worth (at this point):
> 
> 1) We use the bosuns chair clipped to the main halyard as the primary 
> lift.
> 
> 2) As a secondary, the person wears a harness clipped to the spinnaker 
> halyard for the safety.
> 
> 
> Since the main halyard goes to the starboard side cabin top winch, and 
> the spin halyard goes to the port cabin top winch, the process is 
> simple and safe.  The person doing the work down below can do without 
> moving far.
> 
> 
> As Chris Holt Mentioned:
> ========================
> 
> Going UP: Crank up about 5' using main halyard, pull up slack on spin 
> halyard.  Repeat until you're where you need to be.
> 
> To come down, release the spin halyard and the person pulls down ~5 or 
> 6 feet of it and reclamp stopper (or put 4 wraps on the drum and 
> secure through the self-tailer.)
> 
> Then ease the person down by tailing the main halyard on the mainsheet 
> winch.
> 
> 
> To make the process easier:
> ===========================
> 
> 1) We always send the person up the mast with an FRS radio (on an 
> attached
> lanyard) so that we can communicate without shouting.
> 
> 2) We nearly always have tools going up tied on lanyards and attached 
> to the bosun's chair.
> 
> 3) We nearly always have a spare line tied to the person going up so 
> that they can drop it down and pull up other tools/parts as needed.
> 
> 
> My personal *Opinions* on other methods:
> ========================================
> The process I use is the one that ASA teaches. 
> (Except they teach using one
> person on the main and one on the safety line.) 
> Mast gadgets like the
> ladder steps, self-climbing doohickies, etc, are
> still probably safer than
> the winch approach, and some are clearly easier than
> others.
> 
> While an Ascending knot is not a bad idea (if the
> person going up the mast
> is an experienced climber).  Knot that it may not
> always be as easy to use
> on a boat where the mast may be causing you to swing
> around.  Mountains
> don't try to swing you around like a pitching mast
> does. :) I frequently
> have to hang on with my hands and legs to keep me
> positioned where I need to
> be while going up and down, and to have to use two
> hands to run the ascender
> is a pair of hands I don't always have conveniently
> available.  I'm not sure
> how good an ascender knot is for a safety line
> though... (My brother is, and
> he didn't suggest it for what that's worth last time
> I went up the mast).
> 
> While the windlass might be easier from a muscle
> standpoint, it's not safe
> enough for me or any of my crew with no sheet
> stoppers or convenient safety
> line management right there at the windlass.  People
> clearly have success
> with this approach, but it's not for me.   It's your
> life, live it however
> you dare.. :)
> 
> -Jeff H.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Koen Bennebroek
> [mailto:vergaar2004-catalina at yahoo.com] 
> Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 3:17 PM
> To: C320-List
> Subject: [C320-list] raising a bosun's chair
> 
> I finally got a bulb for our deck light half-way up
> the mast. Now I just
> need to get it in. WM had a pocket bosun's chair on
> sale, so I ordered it.
> Now the question becomes, how to get it up there? We
> have a spinaker halyard
> that we can backup with the main halyard for safety
> (or vice-versa). Can we
> use the anchor windlass for this? Or are there other
> preferred methods, like
> routing it over the 2 jib winches? Is using 2
> halyards enough safety or are
> there other safety precautions to think of?
>  
> Any advice is highly appreciated!
>  
> Thanks, Koen
> (BigCat, #224, 1995)
> 
> 
>