Got one. Makes going up the mast no problems.

I think id prefer the ladder but the problem with the ladder is you have to hold on making it much harder to work.
Im about 100kgs and that cheesy video of the guy shimming up the jib halyard is a bit scary. He seems pretty relaxed though.

Im a bit scared of going up there to honest. I have no clue when it was checked last.
I have the option of docking up to the lane cove skiff club and checking top section of mast from upper deck at club. Think ill do that first.
Although a rigger knows what hes doing , its still dangerous for anyone not knowing whats going on up top. They probably would insist on dropping the mast which id prefer not to do unless i really have to.
I have just replaced all halyards but still dont know what is going on up top.

I have one. Bought it after reading about it a few years ago on here.

I used it to re rig the whole bangshoot before sailing to Fiji. It's not a difficult thing to do on a junk rig with no stays etc. Any how just north of Elizabeth reef the halyard block failed and we had to go up to fix it out at sea. It was a bloody, literally, nightmare. Trying to ascend adjacent to the mast was just too painful and we ended up tying off one of the topping lifts to the stern as tight as we could get it. The ascender then had a rope tied to the back of the harness which the two on deck used to steady him when a wave came through.

It was terrifying being swung around like a bobble on a stick making contact with the mast on far too many occasions..We got the bugger fixed but an hour after we set sail again the bracket on the yard arm snapped and we had to do the whole thing again.

The bracket was a pretty substantial piece of stainless steel but I learned a lesson from that. A really good one. I didn't have a spare so we drilled two holes through the yard and fastened the block with 12mm rope. I haven't changed it from that day on and have replaced as many metal fittings as I can with rope. It was really fortunate that I had a spare block set. When we stopped in Port Moselle I bought a replacement which cost an arm and a leg but was the heaviest I could find.

If it had't been for the top climber the trip would have been cut short.

It sounds like a top climber would be great for working on the boat at the mooring or in a marina but a bit dicey at sea.

Sectorsteve said..
It sounds like a top climber would be great for working on the boat at the mooring or in a marina but a bit dicey at sea.

I have been going to make one of these for years. Plenty of Youtube videos to show how they work. Only in harbour though!

Sectorsteve said..
Ramona thats a great idea

It's not my idea. Check out Mastaclimba as



well.