Sailing Things #66: Climbing the Mast (Cool thing to try while sailing 8)
So, a thousand five years ago I started this 100 things blogging challenge where I set out to post 100 things about sailing. I got all the way to #65 before I ran out of steam. But it was a nice resource that I actually came back to when I wanted to explain things to people sometimes, and today I thought about it again because I was helping a friend out with boat work. And so, I'm reprising this. With something I did today: climb the mast.
This activity only really applies to keelboats, I think, because with dinghies, you would just flip the boat or remove the mast. But in the big boats, it's not quite so convenient, since those things weigh a ton.
The way we get sails and stuff up to the top of the mast are with halyards: basically ropes that run through little pulleys at the top and back down, the way you might put a flag up a flagpole. And sometimes those things break, or you forget to tie a knot in the rope and pull the whole the straight through and it all comes falling down to the ground ...
So how do you get it back up?
Well, you could do the time-consuming thing and
But why not just take 5 minutes and shinny up the mast?
It's sort of like rock climbing, in the sense that you attach yourself to another halyard that runs up (always assuming you haven't broken/lost all of them all at once!) and someone else 'pulls' you up (but it's more of a safety thing, like belaying on a climbing wall).
The proper way to do it would be with a good old harness, like my friend Dan has on in this picture:
But if there isn't one on hand ... well, we sailors tend to be a resourceful bunch. Grab a rope and make your own!
And there you have it. A bit of fun fixing the boat!
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Take the 100 things challenge @ 100things_index!
Masterlist Progress: 66/100
This activity only really applies to keelboats, I think, because with dinghies, you would just flip the boat or remove the mast. But in the big boats, it's not quite so convenient, since those things weigh a ton.
The way we get sails and stuff up to the top of the mast are with halyards: basically ropes that run through little pulleys at the top and back down, the way you might put a flag up a flagpole. And sometimes those things break, or you forget to tie a knot in the rope and pull the whole the straight through and it all comes falling down to the ground ...
So how do you get it back up?
Well, you could do the time-consuming thing and
But why not just take 5 minutes and shinny up the mast?
Click to viewIt's sort of like rock climbing, in the sense that you attach yourself to another halyard that runs up (always assuming you haven't broken/lost all of them all at once!) and someone else 'pulls' you up (but it's more of a safety thing, like belaying on a climbing wall).
The proper way to do it would be with a good old harness, like my friend Dan has on in this picture:
But if there isn't one on hand ... well, we sailors tend to be a resourceful bunch. Grab a rope and make your own!
And there you have it. A bit of fun fixing the boat!
---
Take the 100 things challenge @ 100things_index!
Masterlist Progress: 66/100