I went up the mast twice this week to do some maintenance and additions; my first time up the mast. I had some old climbing gear around the house so I resurrected it to use the Texas Prussik technique to climb up the jib halyard. Here are some links to the background info on the system.
http://www.animatedknots.com/prusik/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWH3lnnl0ro (just the first 1:20 sec of the video....)
For additional safety, I ran a second prussik hitch to the main halyard (backup #1), and clipped this into the harness's main locking caribeener. As a second backup, I threw a 1/2" rope around the lower spreaders, hitched another prussik around it, and clipped this prussik off to a second locking caribeener placed around the waist loop of the harness (note; once you ascend above the lower spreaders, you lose backup #3 until you climb high enough to re-loop the 1/2" rope around the upper spreaders).
Anyone who owns, or is a fan of, a bosun's chair would probably not be swayed to switch, but if you don't have either equipment, you can probably pick up a climbing harness, caribeeners and the necessary cordage for about $100. And, I do see some advantages to the prussik technique:
1. It's nice to be able to go up solo. I went up the first day with a helper watching. I didn't have anyone scheduled for the second climb, but that didn't hold up my progress. Also, it's nice to know for a single-hander, that you can get up and down the mast unassisted.
2. The prussik technique requires no moving parts on the boat. You just need a solid cleat to secure each halyard--the halyards never move (I double-cleated each halyard--first to the cabin-top cleat, then aft to the mooring cleats). On my boat, all the winches, deck organizers, turning blocks, and mast sheaves are likely original. A failure of any one of these devices would throw a wrench into a bosun-chair climb.
3. I was told a climbing harness would be uncomfortable (they are designed for arresting falls, not for sitting/hanging for long periods). I was up 2 hours each time and found it to be pretty comfortable. When you place all your weight in the foot prussiks, the harness becomes "unloaded" so it's possible to move it around a little bit to adjust for uncomfortable spots. I also used a piece of webbing as a chest harness (and ran the chest prussik through it--see the second video at 0:20 sec). That way, even if I'd been knocked unconsciousness, I'd be hanging upright in the waist harness.
Wear boots--the foot prussiks "strangle" your feet a bit and would be painful in tennis or boat shoes. Also, don't forget the sunscreen......
http://www.animatedknots.com/prusik/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWH3lnnl0ro (just the first 1:20 sec of the video....)
For additional safety, I ran a second prussik hitch to the main halyard (backup #1), and clipped this into the harness's main locking caribeener. As a second backup, I threw a 1/2" rope around the lower spreaders, hitched another prussik around it, and clipped this prussik off to a second locking caribeener placed around the waist loop of the harness (note; once you ascend above the lower spreaders, you lose backup #3 until you climb high enough to re-loop the 1/2" rope around the upper spreaders).
Anyone who owns, or is a fan of, a bosun's chair would probably not be swayed to switch, but if you don't have either equipment, you can probably pick up a climbing harness, caribeeners and the necessary cordage for about $100. And, I do see some advantages to the prussik technique:
1. It's nice to be able to go up solo. I went up the first day with a helper watching. I didn't have anyone scheduled for the second climb, but that didn't hold up my progress. Also, it's nice to know for a single-hander, that you can get up and down the mast unassisted.
2. The prussik technique requires no moving parts on the boat. You just need a solid cleat to secure each halyard--the halyards never move (I double-cleated each halyard--first to the cabin-top cleat, then aft to the mooring cleats). On my boat, all the winches, deck organizers, turning blocks, and mast sheaves are likely original. A failure of any one of these devices would throw a wrench into a bosun-chair climb.
3. I was told a climbing harness would be uncomfortable (they are designed for arresting falls, not for sitting/hanging for long periods). I was up 2 hours each time and found it to be pretty comfortable. When you place all your weight in the foot prussiks, the harness becomes "unloaded" so it's possible to move it around a little bit to adjust for uncomfortable spots. I also used a piece of webbing as a chest harness (and ran the chest prussik through it--see the second video at 0:20 sec). That way, even if I'd been knocked unconsciousness, I'd be hanging upright in the waist harness.
Wear boots--the foot prussiks "strangle" your feet a bit and would be painful in tennis or boat shoes. Also, don't forget the sunscreen......
Last edited: