mast wedge help

adam
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2022 5:46 pm

Re: mast wedge help

Post by adam »

we used standard west system and when it finally was necessary to remove the stump from the base because the mast broke in half . it popped right off with hand tools

User avatar
arrancomrades
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:11 am

Re: mast wedge help

Post by arrancomrades »

Hello,

I have a 'second batch' UK F35 CK with alloy spars. My deck seal looks very like: Post by patrick@paradox » Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:17 am (above). The rubber was damaged the first time I took the mast out but I was able to buy an 'off the shelf'' strip online - Heaven knows where from. While being nominally a rectangular section, it's actually slightly thinner on one edge so this goes down. Waterproof grease on both sides. The deck ring pulls it into position as the bolts are tightened.

The bottom is in an 'ashtray' ring and is described in the well-known typescript which says to glue it in with Plastic Padding - a relatively cheap epoxy. The trick, which I found the hard way, is to put some kind of soft filler at the bottom of the gap - I use polystyrene waste - so that when you need to destroy the PP with a drill and chisel, you're drilling into a void. Also, when removing, carefully mark all positions and measure as well, then preserve some of the thinner bits of PP to provide an exact match to how it came out - a quarter to a third of the circumference is enough.

Maintain a bag of small wooden wedges, maybe 3"" to 6"" in length (75mm to 150mm) for all ins and outs.

If anyone has had unusual noises from an alloy mast, please send me a message.
Mike Johnston

Serenity
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat May 28, 2022 11:27 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: mast wedge help

Post by Serenity »

Hoping that my explaination is sufficient. I'm of the mind that the small hat top fitting at the keel and the wooden wedges on deck aren't the best way to hold this mast in place, and I'd like to be much more confident that my mast will stay in place during heavy weather.

I wonder if anyone has come up with alternatives or supplements, perhaps an additional fitting on deck similar to what you see in a mast hinge or maybe a two part clamping system bolted to the deck (with sufficient backing plates) which would provide additional support for the mast another foot or two above the deck. I have an F25 but think this would apply to any other Freedom free standing mast.

Serenity
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat May 28, 2022 11:27 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: mast wedge help

Post by Serenity »

My 2nd question. For my 1984 F25 I'd like to replace the wooden wedges (which have taken a beating) with newer "plastic" ones. Here is the ordering page https://rigrite.com/Spars/SparParts/Mast_wedges.php Does anyone know what sizes I should be ordering. It says to measure the gap but I won't be able to do that until the mast is being stepped and I'd prefer to have everything in hand. Can't exactly place an order while the yard is holding the mast in place. Thanks in advance.

User avatar
RadioZephyr
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:04 am
Location: Boston, MA

Re: mast wedge help

Post by RadioZephyr »

Serenity wrote:
Thu Apr 27, 2023 5:40 pm
I'm of the mind that the small hat top fitting at the keel and the wooden wedges on deck aren't the best way to hold this mast in place, and I'd like to be much more confident that my mast will stay in place during heavy weather.

I wonder if anyone has come up with alternatives or supplements, perhaps an additional fitting on deck similar to what you see in a mast hinge or maybe a two part clamping system bolted to the deck (with sufficient backing plates) which would provide additional support for the mast another foot or two above the deck.
What exactly are you worried will happen to your mast in heavy weather? I’ve never heard of a Freedom mast failing because it was insufficiently held by the mast partners and/or the top hat. That is, as long as it wasn’t one of the earlier boats that hasn’t been retrofitted.

Some of the earlier Freedoms were not built with the transverse bolt going through the bottom of the mast, which fits into a channel in the top hat to keep the mast from rotating. Instead, they solely relied on a large stainless L-shaped bracket that was bolted down to the mast step, and the side of the mast. I believe the purpose was primarily to index the mast, and secondly to prevent its rotation. Turns out there were more rotational forces on the mast than they had initially expected, and it’s better for those forces to be balanced, rather than on just one side. That’s when they came up with the top hat with channel and bolt design.
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

User avatar
RadioZephyr
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:04 am
Location: Boston, MA

Re: mast wedge help

Post by RadioZephyr »

Here’s the bracket on my last boat, which was built in 1986, hull number 25. One of the previous owners had the top hat retrofitted so it had a channel in it for the bolt, but for some reason they never actually fitted a bolt (nor drilled the holes in the mast for it).
Attachments
IMG_4300.jpeg
IMG_4300.jpeg (820.42 KiB) Viewed 2739 times
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

Riki
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:50 pm

Re: mast wedge help

Post by Riki »

Our mast wedge is disintegrating as well and I've been trying to figure out what to do. I found this online and was wondering if anyone else has tried this? If so, any thoughts?
https://custom-rubber.myshopify.com/col ... 1049252361
Thanks!
Riki
1997 Freedom 40/40 Hull #27

Serenity
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat May 28, 2022 11:27 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: mast wedge help

Post by Serenity »

Adding to my previous post about addtional support for the mast on my Freedom 25. I'm enclosing pictures of the mast "hat" showing the single steel angle bracket which holds the mast in place. I can see where this is intended to keep the mast from rotating, and perhaps even from poppint out but it really doesn't seem sufficient. No thru bolt or channel as mentioned in other posts.
Attachments
Mast Hat Underside.jpg
Mast Hat Underside.jpg (48.83 KiB) Viewed 2634 times
Mast Hat View.jpg
Mast Hat View.jpg (60.79 KiB) Viewed 2634 times
Mast Hat Side View.jpg
Mast Hat Side View.jpg (49.31 KiB) Viewed 2634 times

TonyB
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:33 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
Contact:

Re: mast wedge help

Post by TonyB »

Just FYI, about a month ago I sailed a 400 mile solo offshore passage. 200 miles out from SF in very sloppy seas and then turned around and came back. Wind was 5-25knts. The mast was pretty much silent and proved that the noise WAS coming from the partners and not the mast base. This was with the new spartite pour replacing the old urethane wedge.
So while I don’t doubt that a lot of noise issues come from the base, some can definitely come from the partners!
Tony
SV Circe 1997 Freedom 40/40 - Hull #20 - Richmond Yacht Club, Richmond, CA

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: mast wedge help

Post by mike cunningham »

TonyB wrote:
Mon May 15, 2023 7:53 pm
Just FYI, about a month ago I sailed a 400 mile solo offshore passage. 200 miles out from SF in very sloppy seas and then turned around and came back. Wind was 5-25knts. The mast was pretty much silent and proved that the noise WAS coming from the partners and not the mast base. This was with the new spartite pour replacing the old urethane wedge.
So while I don’t doubt that a lot of noise issues come from the base, some can definitely come from the partners!
Sounds like someone is headed East and South for a nice quiet sail this summer. Good luck on the race bug lighter!
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

Post Reply