On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 13:14:53 -0500, "Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach at
gmail dotcom wrote:

Well, up the mast, anyway!

This has probably been covered to death, but I think I recall discussions in
this space before about improvements on the typical bosun chair to the
effect of good mountain climbing gear.

Looking at climbing harnesses on REI, a frequently mentioned retailer of
such stuff, the harnesses I see don't look the least bit like I'd have
expected.

Are there any here with experience in this sort of gear? What should we look
for for up-the-mast use (in place of the bosun chair, of which I have a fine
one, but this is supposed to be far superior in comfort and safety)?

Thanks.

L8R

I just picked up Hal Roth's "How to Sail Around the World" and while
there's a fair bit of repetition from his earlier books, it's a good
solid compendium. I noticed that all his boats had and have pretty
solid-looking mast steps. I would say this is the way to go for a
cruiser unless there's a compelling reason not to just resort to an
ATN Climber or some similar piece of mountaineering kit.

R.