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doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 11:38 am
by Laisve
Hello fellow Freedom lovers,
we need to replace the broken windex on our 40/40. I was wondering how safe the bendy CF mast is to climb, and would you advise doing so?
Thanks!

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:22 pm
by Ereiss
I have gone up my f38 mast many times with my climber. Never worried.

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:08 pm
by GeoffSchultz
The mast is not that bendy and I've been up many times. Just be sure to have a safety line along with the primary line. When you get to the jib box, you'll have to release/tighten the jib/spinnaker halyard and let some play out as you're now bypassing it. Just be very careful once you move past the jib box as if your main halyard were to fail, you'd fall up to 2x the distance between the jib box and the top of the mast. That's about 15', so make sure that your halyards are in good shape. As I said, I've done it many times (I like to go up to do photography), but just be aware.

-- Geoff

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:17 am
by Laisve
Thank you! Can you guys elaborate on your climbing setups? I've never climbed a mast.

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:21 pm
by BillSmith

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 3:00 pm
by Camino
I posted this yesterday and took it off - redundancy :D What they said....
I use either a climbing harness or a west marine bosuns chair. My other boats I used the ATN mast climber. The mast climber takes a bit of time-practice to develop the right technique. On my F35 I use the main halyard secured with a bowline not the shackle to the gear I’m in. I wrap a line around the mast with two carabiners as a safety line. I use the power winch to haul me up with wife on the button. I wrap with 4 wraps on the winch drum going up. if the button sticks in the on position and won’t stop she knows to simply Unwrap the halyard from the winch. With two turns on the winch only, she easily lets me down no problem. Halyard needs to be in good shape, As mentioned. To get above the mast head for top work, I tie a sail tie to my harness with loops for my feet like stirrups. I adjust the loops to allow me to stand up and gain another 2 ‘ height

Bills link is good btw -if you go that route might as well get the ATN mast climber ( he’s a good guy and his kit is well engineered)- again with practice you’ll scramble right up - with two people the power winch is easier :D

Truth be told, the first time up my unstayed mast to the top I thought I was going to pass out! I wasn’t used to no stays, no spreaders, no backstay, etc. the top was a bit bendy and I freaked. I asked to be let down. Got my senses and went up again in 15 minutes , all ok. Very secure and safe

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:54 pm
by TonyB
Well we sent my girlfriend Patch up the mast this last weekend for the first time on our new to us 40/40. We used an ATN Mast Climber, but just used it as a bosun's chair. The harness on it snugged up very nice and the foot loops made it so she could stand and work above the top of the mast. We connected the mast climber to the main halyard the way it is designed, but used the electric winch to haul her up. We used the jib halyard as a safety line, with a bowline connected to the harness using a locking carabiner. Once she got to where the jib halyard exits the mast, she used another line to tie a large prussic around the mast. She then connected this to the harness with the locking carabiner and continued up. this worked really well. There was no doubt the prussic was a good safety.
At the top she noted that the additional sheaves are there to run a flag halyard or an emergency main halyard. I wonder if anyone else has done this. Seems like a really good idea.

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2019 6:02 pm
by Paul Langevin
Tony, when Paul Dennis refitted our boat he installed a back up main halyard (including spare shackle) which came in very handy when our main halyard broke at the sheave while sailing to windward. The main came down in the lazy jacks and we simply redeployed the spare main halyard to the rope clutch (we keep shackled to the mast base and cleated to the mast) attached the new halyard to the main and kept on sailing. Well worth the effort to install in advance. Paul

Re: doing work on the 40/40 mast

Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 4:05 pm
by TonyB
Hey Paul (and others),
well back when I posted my note above, we ran the flag halyard through the sheaves at the mast head. After talking with Paul Dennis he recommended having a spare line with a block attached to pull through in an emergency and to run the spare main halyard through that block, as the sheaves for the emergency set up are really built to roll well with the high load of the main on it.

So the procedure should be tape line with block on it (let's call it Line A) to flag halyard, and feed spare main halyard through the block on the end of Line A. Then use the flag halyard to pull the bitter end of Line A up and through the sheaves at the mast head. Then pull Line A snug and secure it. This will haul the block up to the mast top with the spare main halyard run through it. Then use the spare main halyard to raise and lower the sail as usual.

Well last weekend we had the main halyard part at the mast head. I hadn't purchased the whole set up discussed, so I ordered some line and a block to make Line A and last night I tried to haul it up and over the sheaves. No luck it won't pass through. I am wondering if the line I bought is too thick (12mm). Wondering Paul, what your spare halyard set up is like or if anyone has specs on what size line we can run up and over those sheaves?

Thanks!
Tony