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Going Up In The World? Used Properly a Bosun’s Chair Is The Safest Choice
Mast climbing is something most sailors will need to do some day. Often this is a task which is completed rather light-heartedly but the reality is that it’s a high risk operation which – should it go wrong – could result in serious injury, at the worst even a fatality. Mast climbing is something we should take seriously and the safest way is to use a bosun's chair.
Early bosun’s chairs were simply short planks of wood, rigged with rope strops to provide the attachments. They were notoriously easy to fall out of. By contrast, modern chairs are made of strong synthetic fabric and wrap around the hips of the climber, with straps between the legs and around the waist. The seat itself is usually stiffened for added comfort. Properly adjusted the chair will hold the climber securely in place, allowing him (or her) to work with both hands without fear of being dislodged. Most chairs come complete with a variety of pockets to carry tools and other necessary objects.
But beware. There’s a wide range in quality on the market. Do the research: yachting forums and magazine reviews are good places to start.
There are also various proprietary devices designed to allow someone to climb a mast unaided but, for the benefit of this article, we’re assuming at least one other assistant and what can be considered the ‘conventional’ way of getting a crew member aloft.
Up the stick...
The climber will be pulled up the mast on a halyard, with another halyard used as a safety backup. For the primary line the main halyard is usually the obvious choice, because:
- It passes through the masthead which means that security isn’t reliant on the strength of the sheave.
- It usually leads comfortably to a powerful manual winch.
The primary line should be tied to the chair’s attachment point with a bowline. Never rely on a shackle or snapshackle – though, if these can be attached as well they will provide additional security.
The backup line is usually the spinnaker halyard and, in this case, it’s sometimes better to use its (almost invariable) snapshackle, since the climber may need to detach and then reattach it in order to negotiate the spreaders.
With this arrangement, you need at least two crew on deck to handle the halyards (plus one more to tail the main halyard if the winch isn’t self-tailing). The bulk of the work lies with the main halyard winchman, with the other taking up the slack and keeping an eye on what’s going on up the mast. Some people like both winchers to share the load, but this can lead to confusion. Note:
- Self-tailering winches should only be used in self-tailing mode if there are also rope clutches as backups.
- If at all possible, don't use electric or hydraulic winches which would continue running if the winchman was disabled or distracted.
GOLDEN RULE 1: While he’s actually winching, the principal winchman should keep his eyes on the winch, not the climber. This will avoid the chance of any riding turns or other foul ups.
GOLDEN RULE 2: If the halyard winches are on the mast, send the tools up in a bucket once the climber is in place. To have, say, a cordless drill fall from the bosun’s chair onto the wincher standing below could be bad news for everyone concerned – not least for the climber who could rapidly follow the drill to the deck if said wincher became distracted.
Which takes us to ...
GOLDEN RULE 3: Once the halyards are secured, stand clear of the mast while work is in progress. A falling tool could seriously spoil your day and could even leave the ascender stranded at the masthead.
This method presumes a crew of three but many cruising crews consist of sailing couples, in which circumstances it would be dangerous for a single wincher to be operating two winches. So, an alternative to the backup line is for the climber to use a mountaineering ‘ascender’ (a type of jamming cleat) attached to the chair via a short rope strop and run up a spare halyard which has been set up fairly tight by tensioning it with a winch. Again, the spinnaker halyard is a strong candidate for this role.
... and down again.
With gravity now on your side, life becomes less strenuous for the winchers, but don’t allow the feeling of relative ease relax your concentration.
Again, as you lower the climber, the wincher’s eyes should be on the drum, not up the mast. Riding turns are more common when easing than when hauling. And ...
GOLDEN RULE 4: The winchers must ease the halyards hand-over-hand, instead of allowing the rope to slip through their fingers. This is in case something sharp – a piece of glass or wire, for instance – may have become caught in the rope, the sudden pain of which might cause a startled wincher to release his grip.
Individual crews develop their own procedures and sometimes the nature of the boat and its gear brings special considerations that must be accommodated. However, the points raised in this article are sound advice for all. And talking of sound...
GOLDEN RULE 5: All bystanders should be told to remain silent so that the main participants can concentrate solely on the job in hand and communicate without distraction or interruption. As a young cadet in the Merchant Navy, I very nearly lost my life because one of the winchman's mates (the winch in this case being an exceedingly powerul hydraulic one) decided he wanted a 'quick word'. While he was distracted I was very nearly pulled through a fairlead. I can tell you I had more than a quick work to say when safely back on deck.
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Seamanship & Boatcraft Bosun's Chair - The Safest Way to Climb a Mast
