ATN Ascenders

Using ATN Acenders

I have climbed Eximius' mast quite a few times, the most recent was this past week when I decided to replace the rechargeable battery in our Garmin gWind Wireless mast head transducer. 

The outcome of that trip up the stick was that it's not the battery so I need to see if the transducer can be repaired or replace it with a Wired gWind Transducer. 

That means I have to do at least two more trips up the mast more likely three.

The method I use to climb the mast is using the following setup.

1. Secure the end of the Spinnaker Halyard to the base of the mast and cinch up on the other end at the cleat on the Mast.
2. Secure the end of the Spare Halyard in the same fashion.
3. Detach the Main Halyard from the Mainsail and secure that end to the Bosun's Chair.
4. Tie a Prusik Knot using a 1/4" line onto the Spinnaker Halyard
5. Tie another Prusik Knot with another 1/4" line onto the Spare Halyard
6. Don my Safety Harness & Tether, attach the free end of the Tether to a Carabiner on the Main Haylard end.
7. Tie the ends of one Prusik Knot line to the Bosun's Chair D rings
8. Tie the ends of the other Prusik Knot Line to the Foot straps Loop.

With the Chair and safety harness setup, I then position the Prusik Knot from the Chair to a point as high as I can reach and sit down in the chair.

Next I hook the foot strap loops one over each foot and move the prusik knot to about 6" below the other Knot.

Now I adjust the attachments of the Prusik knot lines to the chair and foot strap loops until I can sit in the chair and then stand up in the loops.

Ok, now ready to climb the mast. Peggy will tail the Main Halyard on the winch as I climb the mast.

Climbing the mast is a task, the biggest part is shifting those Prusik knots one after the other. Each time I may have to partially release the loop of the Prusik knot in order to allow them to slide up their Halyard. That means that the maximum distance between the knots is determined not by my ability to lift my feet in order to raise the knot, but the distance that I can still release the Prusik knot's loop.

That way, the distance I can move up the Halyard with each move is restricted by the use of Prusik knots.

And that probably the reason that many climbers use Ascenders, quicker, easier and less exhauting.

Searching the web for a pair of Ascenders, I found that ATN, which is a Company is just down the road from where we keep the boat ( ok, about 15 mins away ) has them. So I stopped by to check out their 'Ascenders' 

I meat Etienne, very nice guy, very busy but graciously took the time to show me his Ascenders and explain their use and features.  

His store is a hive of activity, they make Spinnaker Sleeves ,Mast Climbers, Catamaran Trampolines, Storm Sails, Spinnaker 'Tackers' and much more. His team where all busy and he had a significant amount of jobs in progress. 

Etienne showed me how to attach the Ascenders to a line and explained how he has his own Bosun's chair system which incudes the Ascenders.  

I had watched the YouTube video of his that shows how to climb a mast single handed using his system. It's impressive, however, I don't think I'll go up the mast unassisted. I'd hate to have any kind of issue up the mast and have to come down to sort it out. Much easier to have a deck assistant that can send up something when needed via a messenger line.

So I purchased a pair of the Ascenders, took them back to the boat and checked out that I had memorized the process that Etienne demonstrated. I did, it's pretty straight forward.

The next day, Peggy came to the boat with me as I had to go up the mast to retrieve the non-functional Wireless Wind Transducer.

Getting up the mast was actually more difficult then using the Prusik knots, but I figured it out it was my fault. I had set the lower end of the fixed halyard to the forward cleat. That meant that I had nothing to hold onto when climbing, but more importantly, I had the Ascender to which my foot strap was attached too high, that meant that I had to reach up really high when raising the Ascender that was on my chair. As a result, my feet would swing out really far and it would take a lot of physical effort to move the upper ascender.  I confirmed this later when back on the deck. I'll attach the Foot loop so that it's Ascender is about waist high when standing on the deck and the Chair Ascender about face height when standing on the deck. That way I can sit down and easily raise my feet, taking the weight off of the foot loop ascender and making it easy to just slide up the Halyard. No need to release the prusik knot, the Ascender slide up easily when there's no weight on it.

Ok, so next time, I'll adjust the Ascender positions before attaching the Chair and the Foot loops to them.

Despite my error, I was able to climb the mast and it was a whole lot easier when I was above the Radar Reflector and able to steady myself with my feet on the Mast. But best of all was the fact that I could now easily stand with my head and shoulders well above the Masthead. As I have to do quite a bit of work next week when the new Wind Transducer and the new VHF Antenna Cable arrive and I have to go up the mast again. Oh the joys of boat work.

I do plan on adding to my Bosun's Chair a secondary harness that eliminates the chair seat slipping up my butt when I stand in the Foot loops. Not a modification to the chair itself, just a simple pair of adjustable leg straps to keep my butt firmly in the seat.

Ok, so a big shout out to ATN, I feel very confident in the Ascenders, there's no chance of them detaching from the halyard and there's no need for a fixed line with a simple bitter end as the Ascenders clip onto the bight of the Halyard.

Next time up the mast, I'll try to get Peggy to take some pics as I prepare for the climb.

See you on the water - assuming I fix the Wind Transducer and that we don't have any of the 'H' type of weather events.