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need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2019 12:20 pm
by SVBAGATELLE
Having decided that a new mast for my Bagatelle is too exorbitant, I have been looking for a used replacement. I have located a freestanding carbon mast off a catamaran in FL--much longer than the Freedom 30's, but might be able to cut it to fit. Does anyone have detailed specs of the F30 mast? Failing that, would someone be willing to give me a few measurements (all I have are the P=38.16' and that the masthead is 44' off the water). In particular, I would like the outside diameter (or circumference) at the base of the mast, and just above the deck (at the mast collar), and the distance between the mast step and the collar, and from the collar to the gooseneck.
My boat is in Abaco and we are discouraged from visiting until essential services are restored, but from photos I see that my mast has broken just above the gooseneck as a result of Hurricane Dorian.
Paul
1987 Freedom 30 "Bagatelle"

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2019 4:12 pm
by rvivian
Hi -

Mike Cunningham posted F30 mast dimensions in the following post:

https://www.freedomyachts.org/viewtopic ... ast#p49423

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 2:22 pm
by mike cunningham
A comment on my measurements. Sorry about the format i.e. the inches from one spot to another. It's a little confusing I know. When I took the measurement I wanted to ensure I knew the detailed dimensions of the mast (so I could fit a storm jib for example). I got so focused on this I neglected to document the overall length, which I did, indeed, measure. Not that it matters since I did not write it down.

Anyway, if you prepare a simple line drawing of the mast, it will be pretty simple to connect all the measurements and come up with the total length in feet and inches.

i believe my mast was about 48 feet overall plus/minus a few inches. But do the math on your boat.

You will have to take the "inside the boat" measurement yourself of course.

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 2:40 pm
by mike cunningham
SVBAGATELLE wrote:Having decided that a new mast for my Bagatelle is too exorbitant, I have been looking for a used replacement. I have located a freestanding carbon mast off a catamaran in FL--much longer than the Freedom 30's, but might be able to cut it to fit. Does anyone have detailed specs of the F30 mast? Failing that, would someone be willing to give me a few measurements (all I have are the P=38.16' and that the masthead is 44' off the water). In particular, I would like the outside diameter (or circumference) at the base of the mast, and just above the deck (at the mast collar), and the distance between the mast step and the collar, and from the collar to the gooseneck.
My boat is in Abaco and we are discouraged from visiting until essential services are restored, but from photos I see that my mast has broken just above the gooseneck as a result of Hurricane Dorian.
Paul
1987 Freedom 30 "Bagatelle"

Where did the 44 foot "off the water" measurement come from? The mast base is below the waterline but not four feet below. More like 24 inches +/-. I would not be shocked to hear F30 masts are different lengths but i would be surprised. This suggests your mast and mine differ by about 2 feet or so. Have you ever run a measurement up the main halyard just to ballpark the distance above deck and sanity check the "off the water" number?

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 3:30 pm
by rvivian
Hi -

There is a pdf of the Freedom 30 Manual in the Documentation section of the site that corrects the masthead height above the water from 44' to 47' -6".

https://www.freedomyachts.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8557

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:14 pm
by mike cunningham
rvivian wrote:Hi -

There is a pdf of the Freedom 30 Manual in the Documentation section of the site that corrects the masthead height above the water from 44' to 47' -6".

https://www.freedomyachts.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8557

OK, that makes a bit more sense. I believe they have a little contingency in the 47-6 number which is a good thing IMO. Probably would save a haircut for all the gizmos installed up there. Tricolor, wind transducer, wind vane and VHF whip in my case.

Coincidentally, there is a fixed bridge where interstate 5 crosses the San Joaquin River in Stockton, Ca. My mast was about a foot too tall at low tide. I discovered this when I was within 15 feet of the bridge girders. This was my life lesson in paying attention to mast height off the water... and to the appropriate chart. It also acquainted me with the Freedom 30's ability to do an emergency 180 degree turn in a surprisingly short distance.

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 6:28 pm
by SVBAGATELLE
Many thanks to both of you! Mike, I did find your measurements a little confusing. I guess in converting a mast for a different boat the key measurements are the overall length and the inside diameter at the mast step. Also the outside diameter where it goes through the deck. I do not know if the collar has any wiggle room, but the mast wedges or spartite or whatever goes in there to keep the mast in place can be adjusted. Thanks for the heads up on the length. I would have been very sorry to have a mast that was too short.
I will also have to look carefully at what holes have been made in the longer mast that I may buy, for instance for the gooseneck. Ideally, starting from a longer mast I can cut off the base including the gooseneck fitting to get length and diameter I need. If I am lucky I may be able to keep the masthead fittings/halyard sheaves. But that may be wishful thinking.
Mike, can you explain what you mean by crane plate, halyard plate, and halyard box. As for the bulge for the gooseneck, I think this must only have been there on the earlier masts (I remember seeing one like that). My mast has a perfectly tapered shape all the way up (or at least it did).
Paul

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 1:33 pm
by mike cunningham
Paul,

The "plate" I mentioned in my post is (at least on my mast) a rectangular sheet of metal which fits onto the front of the mast and contains the jib/spinnaker halyard box. The plate is radiused to conform to the mast curvature and also supports the camber spar topping lift as well as the lazy jack cables.

The halyards box is mounted to the plate and the plate is riveted to the mast at the height specified in my measurements. This arrangement may well have been modified as the build was refined. My boat is hull #3 so a very early model.

The gooseneck bulge is a heavily reinforced area of the mast which includes an embedded stainless gooseneck tang which is a permanent part of the mast. The bulge is a 1 inch thick wrapping around the mast at gooseneck level (about 5 feet off the cabin top). The bulge is about 10 inches in overall length with gooseneck tang more or less centered in it.

I have pictures of all of this but the forum has size limits which are a hassle (I always have trouble getting to an acceptable size). But I would be happy to send you a bunch of photos of the relevant parts if you want to PM me your e-mail.

With regard to mast diameter. I am pretty comfortable with my base diameter measurement. I wish I had done a circumference check every 10 feet or so, that way we would have had a good idea of the taper angle. I do think my circumference at the halyard box is good so you could do some extrapolation base to box. I did not measure the diameter of the partners but the base fits through there with about one to two inches of clearance so the round hole is somewhere in the 10 to 11 inch diameter range I would think.

I agree with you that diameter and length are key measurements but be sure to take into account pre existing cutouts and penetrations and where you would be making new modifications. My sense is this is a non trivial engineering exercise. If you have insurance my thought is you may want to have a replacement built from scratch. I think there have been a number of significant advances in engineering fiber masts in the last 30 years. A modern version might well be lighter and stronger, albeit way more expensive, than used.

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:30 pm
by rvivian
There is an F30 listed for sale on Yacht World for $12,000.

Re: need mast measurements for F30

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:33 pm
by mike cunningham
Below is the business part of an e-mail I sent to Paul re mast length on the F30. Just riposting here to memorialize the data.

With regard to the total mast length, Using my numbersĀ  and having just run down to the boat to measure the inside height, I come up with a total mast length of 49 feet 1 and 1/2 inches.
This sounds about right when we look at the corrected manual's height above water. at 47 feet 6 inches. That would put the base of the mast about 19 or 20 inches below the WL which matches up pretty well with what I see on my boat.
Mike
PS, I will post this (excluding addresses) on the site for posterity