"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:08:34 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

Whatever happened to the mast steps you talked about about a decade or so
ago
when you first hauled out?

===

Mast steps are a dangerous way to go aloft in my opinion unless you
use a safety halyard tailed by someone on deck. Steps also have a way
of fouling halyards and ripping sails.




Some of what you said is true but it depends upon the style of the mast steps.
My mast steps which I installed myself, one step at a time, fold up out of the
way and they have no sharp edges, don't foul the halyards nor do they rip
sails. But, I've seen some that very well could do all of the above because of
their poor design.

http://www.twinsrecreation.com/Boat-...p_p_81533.html

Mine look just like the above but mine are ABI brand which seems to have been
sold out to somebody else.

As for being dangerous to go aloft on, I disagree. One needs no safety line
tailed by somebody on deck. Why, that's ludicrous from a single-hander's
standpoint. We strive to be independent of some lubberly committee action. It
sure is ludicrous that sailors are willing to accept the lie that it takes a
committee to make one's way safely to the masthead.

--
Sir Wilbur