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| Bare Plate |
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| Plate with Gossett Block |
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| Top View |
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| Plate, Block, & Harness |
I made my Gossett Plate in 1979 with hand tools, then milled out much of the superfluous metal in 2005.
My Gossett Plate is 395 mm. long, 64 mm. wide, 13 mm. high, and weighs 603 g. The Gossett Plate is made from 13 mm. 6061-T6 aluminum plate designed to mount a Gossett Block at the center. Following Jim Gossett’s original design, I tapered the plate moving outward from the center, then left the extremities tall to accommodate a vertical slot.
At this point, this becomes a harness description rather than a device description (forgive my sins!). On the left (in the photo), a piece of 25 mm. tubular webbing is sewn around a groove turned in a 75 mm. long piece of 23 mm. dowel rod (actually, part of broomstick). The webbing passes through the slot, around the caver’s back, and a bight passes through the other slot where a second, similar dowel holds it. By twisting this second dowel, the caver can tighten the rig, then tie off the loose webbing end to secure the rigging.
The Gossett System is an interesting perversion. The plate with box attached is mounted at belt level, and each foot has an ascender on a long foot sling passing through the box. This places the box near the caver’s center of gravity, making it easy to flip upside-down.
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Warning: There have been some incidents and rescues with the Gossett System, so just avoid it. |
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