That must be the point where the labor rate goes to $300/hr..... this might just put the fear of gravity in you.
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That must be the point where the labor rate goes to $300/hr..... this might just put the fear of gravity in you.
This has become quite the thread. It's great to see so much input from the group.
Just for fun I thought I'd share one of the things we riggers occasionally find once we safely get to the top of the mast. Look closely, this might just put the fear of gravity in you.
View attachment 37144
Yup - that's exactly the solution I came up with several years ago after seeing lots of arborist videos and caving videos. It was fun putting the components together and learning to use them.This is one of those threads that reminds you of a problem you didn't even know you had. I always had someone hoist me up on the main halyard. If I was feeling extra precautious, I'd drop the headsail and use it's halyard for a backup line tended by a third person. I never thought about the overrides we experience from time time time happing when we have someone up the mast.
I work with a few tower climbers who are experts in rigging, so I ran this past them and they said the Gri gri & ascender was a great setup. We gathered up a few REI gift cards and dividend checks we had forgotten about and built a decent setup.
Everyone in the family took turns trying it out in the garage before we tried it out this past weekend. I can't believe how much of a difference it makes. Being self sufficient and in control brings some confidence I didn't know I was missing.
Eventually, I would like to purchase a dedicated sit harness (we're currently using climbing harnesses). I also tried the bosuns chair with the climbing independently clipped into the Gri gri carabiner. It was more comfortable than the climbing harness alone, but it's more complicated than I like. Another improvement will be purchasing a longer static line I can temporarily replace the halyard instead of tying it to the halyard (we ended up with 3' lost at the top of the mast with the loop to loop connection). This was a huge improvement that's only going to get better. Thanks once again to this group for providing some great advice!
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I like it! Would you mind sharing the individual REI parts used in the system?This is one of those threads that reminds you of a problem you didn't even know you had. I always had someone hoist me up on the main halyard. If I was feeling extra precautious, I'd drop the headsail and use it's halyard for a backup line tended by a third person. I never thought about the overrides we experience from time time time happing when we have someone up the mast.
I work with a few tower climbers who are experts in rigging, so I ran this past them and they said the Gri gri & ascender was a great setup. We gathered up a few REI gift cards and dividend checks we had forgotten about and built a decent setup.
Everyone in the family took turns trying it out in the garage before we tried it out this past weekend. I can't believe how much of a difference it makes. Being self sufficient and in control brings some confidence I didn't know I was missing.
Eventually, I would like to purchase a dedicated sit harness (we're currently using climbing harnesses). I also tried the bosuns chair with the climbing independently clipped into the Gri gri carabiner. It was more comfortable than the climbing harness alone, but it's more complicated than I like. Another improvement will be purchasing a longer static line I can temporarily replace the halyard instead of tying it to the halyard (we ended up with 3' lost at the top of the mast with the loop to loop connection). This was a huge improvement that's only going to get better. Thanks once again to this group for providing some great advice!
View attachment 37740View attachment 37741
Good points.It's good to see the similarities in our systems. I like the auto locking carabiners instead of my screw type and I really like the idea of a non locking carabiner for the pully.
I didn't mention it in my list, but I have a strap connecting to the bottom of the ascender to my harness so I don't accidently drop it when I'm derigging to come down.
Great point on the Left vs Right Ascender too. My wife is left handed and I'm right, we went with the right handed model thinking I would use it more, but we quickly figured out why you should go opposite when we rigged it up in the garage.
One more change I would like to do in the future is purchase a rope long enough to completely replace the halyard. I used figure 8 follow throughs to tie the ropes together, but this leaves about 3' of unusable line at the top of the mast. It also doesn't eliminate any halyard chafe from the system.
If you just need to go aloft to make a quick retrieval or repair, you may not need a Cadillac system. The minimalist route might be:Would you mind sharing the individual REI parts used in the system?
Nice set up! I envy the simplicity. It's pretty cool what people can accomplish with some rope and enginuity. We should all have some loops around for making prussiks to unload an override regardless of our mast climbing setups.If you just need to go aloft to make a quick retrieval or repair, you may not need a Cadillac system. The minimalist route might be:
- harness
- 2 harness-prussiks & a locking carabiner
- dual-loop foot-prussik
- chest-loop and non-locking carabiner
View attachment 37765
The rope prussiks don't abrade so you can use your existing lines (if in good shape). The second harness-prussik is for a backup halyard/line.