"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
...

"Maxprop" wrote in message
nk.net...

If you're using the spliced-on shackle on the halyard to secure the
halyard to your bosun's chair, you're a bigger fool than I've been
thinking you are. Hope your insurance is paid up.


Anybody using a bosun's chair at all isn't too bright. A bosun's chair,
while quaint is another "thing of the past." Every serious sailor has mast
steps of one sort or another installed. Serious sailors who know what
they're doing have installed folding mast steps. These don't represent a
snag for halyards or sails and they reduce windage aloft. This nonsense of
winching somebody up in a bosun's chair is repair by committee. It is a
foolish and dangerous act. One man should be able to make his way safely
and unassisted up the mast in all but the roughest of conditions. Mast
steps are the only way one man can do this.

That's a valid argument, but most people wouldn't bother with mast steps. A
bosun's chair is a quicker, less-expensive solution.

What do you think of the self-climbing systems, such as the ATN Top Climber?

Max