Frogwatch wrote: ...
Instead, I suggest the use of Prusik knots. They are free and work
very well. ...

I tried prusiks once but they seemed to take a lot of effort to ascend
and they are grippy up and down so I couldn't get one to follow me up a
halyard as a back-up the way I can with a cam device. I suspect there
is some technique that I didn't grok.

My current rig for going up the mast unassisted is a 3 part tackle with
a ratchet block (ratchet with bail at the bottom and fiddle at the top
tail comes down from the mast head). The ratchet really makes it easy
to rest and I find ascending easier and quicker than with cam devices
or prusiks. I have a cam that I attach to a spare halyard set up as a
static line to catch me if I faint or something...

Does rigging the tackle like this give you a 6:1 purchase __as you
ascend__? I think it does, but have had trouble convincing the crowd
around here.

-- Tom.