Beware of Falling Tools

For a bosun's chair I always used an old scrap of plank with four holes drilled in it and a bit of rope or a climbing harness... I got real upmarket for a while when I found a discarded swing seat, but I always kind of envied those guys with the real cool super duper bosun's chairs that had nifty pockets and foam padding for one's delicate butt...

Be careful what you wish for... My wife picked up just such a beast for me by Harken (because no way would this cheap-seats boy pay that much money for such a wonder, no matter how cushy the padded seat was for my delicate buns) and it looked pretty cool. It had the padded seat and every thing so I was actually happy when I had to go up the mast and install something... Sadly, when I got into the seat I found the ergodynamics of the seat made it nearly impossible to work in and the belt across the back of the seat was placed so high that it was actually impossible to sit in (being close to the center line of the seat). But, the worse part was when I put a tool in the pocket it went right through the seam and nearly hit Sheila on the head (she was tailing) and dinged the deck... Such wonderful quality control is NOT what I expect from Harken and they really should be ashamed of themselves.

Now when I see someone in one of those super duper Bosun's chairs I cringe expecting falling tools and possibly falling bodies; so keep clear! Whenever I pass a dumpster I keep an eye out on the off chance that a swing seat will magically appear...