LM27 - How to replace wind indicator?

[dingusdingo]

Hey,

So over the winter the arrow on my wind indicator was destroyed. It is missing the back half and is now useless unfortunately...  I dont really have anyone I can trust to hoist me up the mast. Does anyone have any ideas on what tools I might need to replace the arrow or the entire thing? Would be nice if I can just take one trip up. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture last time i was at the boat. They dont happen to be a universal fit do they?

Or do people recommend dropping the mast? Can I get away with mounting the wind indicator further down somewhere more accessible even? I am a cruiser sailor and to be honest it has been fine the last couple of times just feeling wind direction and seeing it on my lazy bag, but would be nice to get some instrumentation again as well..

Thanks in advance,

Dan

[Sula]

Hi Dan,

If you are going to fix the wind indicator at the masthead, then I suggest you are unlikely to successfully repair or replace the 'arrow'. Probably easier to buy a replacement wind indicator. Hawk is a popular brand that I have have had satifactory results from, but there are others.

Alternatives are to tie some thin ribbon, wool, or perhaps best of all a length of tape from an old cassette of maybe 15-20cm length, to a shroud wire on each side. The advantage is that you don't have to crane your neck up to look at the masthead all the time, the disadvantage is that the air is more disturbed at this level so not so accurate.

For getting up the mast, if you don't want to climb the mast yourself most boatyards will lift a member of staff to the masthead on a crane or other lifting machine. Some riggers will just climb the mast without any ladder or lifting machine, but that is getting rarer these days.

[dingusdingo]

Thanks for the advice Sula! I will go for the ribbon tied to each shroud for now. Managed to find some red and green ribbon at the sewing shop as well

Otherwise I saw there are some "mast ladders" made out of rope or straps that one can attach to the main halyard. I will try find one for a good price eventually so I can go up myself with an amateur on the safety line.

This one is nice, but the price is outrageous...

kinlevenmarine.com/shop/yacht-mast-ladder/

[Sula]

Those mast climbing ladders (and other gadgets) do tend to be expensive. You can sometimes find them advertised second-hand, but they will usually need to be the right length for your mast.

It is strongly recommended that you don't just depend on the ladder when you go up the mast (or any other single means of support), but also have some sort of harness tied to a strong halyard, with someone at deck level tailing it on a winch, so that if you fall from the ladder (or the ladder's supporting line breaks) you don't just plummet to the deck.

Speaking of which, beware of dropping tools on the person on the deck!

[Brian & Glenda]

This is the strategy my local shipyard uses, and advised me to use to climb the mast of my LM32:

To climb the mast, use a 3:1 tackle for climbing with a bosuns chair. Best to buy Harken 2136(chair end) and 2673(top end). They are ratchet blocks and take away a lot of the load on your hands. You then need 4 times the mast height in 3/8" line to run through the blocks. Hook the 2136 tackle onto the bosuns chair and raise the 2673 tackle (with the 3/8" line appropriately reeved between the two sets of tackle) to the masthead using the mainsail halyard. That's how you'll haul yourself to the masthead. Pull 200 feet of line through the blocks, and you'll be 50' in the air, having hauled only one third of your body weight to do so! But: Don't use it without a safety harness. For that:

Go to a safety supply company and get their advice regarding an appropriate Fall Arrest Systems. A Fall Arrest Harness, Shock Absorbing Lanyard with grab hook, and a safety line slightly longer than your mast is tall, of an appropriate size for the grab hook. (A 5/8" grab hook for 5/8 In. copolymer safety line should do the trick.) All that is the fall arrest system for just in case you slip and fall! Their fall arrest kits may be cheaper than buying the components separately.

Use a good knot to raise one end of the safety line up to the mast head using the spinnaker or jib sail halyard. Secure the trailing end of the halyard well, to keep the top of the line up at the masthead. Don't rely on your jam or cam cleats to take the shock loading if you fall. Your life depends on the integrity of these two knots, and of your halyards. Climb into that safety harness, attach the ends of the lanyard to the harness and to the grab hook. Feed the trailing end of the safety line into the grab hook. Double check everything, Climb into the bosun's chair, and proceed to haul yourself to the top of the mast using the 3/8" line. Once at the top of the mast, use several wraps and tie a secure knot around the lines between the two tackle to maintain enough friction to hold yourself in place.

This all works very well. I can climb my mast without relying on anyone else's help, even at nearly 70 years of age. It is good exercise too!

Or ... join a yacht club that has a mast tower and use the tower to access the top of the mast! Usually much easier, but not necessarily cheaper!

I have also on occasion, at low tide, climbed a safety / 'man fell off the dock and needs to be able to climb back up' ladder to access the top of my mast, but that was on a much smaller boat.

Hope that helps!
Brian.

[paulsailing]

I use an alloy ladder extended and lashed to the mast, hauled up on spinnaker halyard and a climbing harness with a descender as my safety system. All easy to set up and use.

[dingusdingo]

Also a good idea Paul!