MastaClimba is an aid to climbing a mast, it is not a safety critical device.
The bosun's chair used
in conjunction with the MastaClimba must be robust and safely secured to its hoisting line. Failure
of a bosun's chair, the halyard securing it or the attachment of the halyard to the chair can result in a fatal fall;-
even a fall into water does not guarantee your protection against injury or fatality. Attach the chair with a knot rather
than a shackle.
It is strongly recommended that a mast climber should
use a safety harness also. Ideally this should have its own dedicated halyard but this may not always be possible.
An alternative is to secure the harness to the MastaClimba line with a Prussic knot or an "ascendeur" sliding the
connection up by hand as you ascend. If the MastaClimba line is dedicated and kept with the MastaClimba, it is easy
to inspect it for condition before deployment and can be kept below decks and protected from accidental damage.
