Severe weather sailing

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rengarch
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:38 pm

Severe weather sailing

Post by rengarch »

Hello, my husband and I have owned a 32' Freedom for the 3rd season now. We were sailing in rather rough weather this past weekend on the Long Island Sound. We were returning to our homeport in Westport, CT (heading east) with an easterly wind gusting to at least 20 knots with an incoming westerly tide. The seas , I would guess, around 3-4 (maybe 5?) feet high. We covered the mainsail and the jib and cleated the boom tight and began to motor home.

My question to anyone out there who have sailed in very foul weather, as we were pitching in the waves, the mast below in the cabinet produced loud horrific banging, clanging sounds, should we be concerned? I can't really discribe the sound but it didn't sound right. Our guess was tt there was some obvious stress being placed on the mast somewhere. Was the mast flexing as we pitched upwards and crashing down onto the seas? We were guessing that the boom added to this flexure stress.
As we turned parallel to the waves and as we had following seas, the sound ceased.

Should we be concerned and if so, how do we get this inspected? Thank you for any insight in advance. I just don't want to find out that our mast is fatgued and flaw on a long cruise in the future.

Rita

Craig
Posts: 86
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:44 pm

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by Craig »

Did you go below to look at the mast base? It sounds like it could be loose. Possibly not attached correctly or a problem with the mast base/step itself. Those are not conditions that should have challenged your boat.

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Michel
Posts: 546
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:48 am
Location: Zaanstad, the Netherlands, EU

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by Michel »

Probably the mast base not being secured enough, or else cables in the mast banging. In those conditions, I would have secured the main boom midships to stabilize the headstay and kept the jib up. that would also put some constant pressure on the mast, preventing it from banging around. When motoring in heavy weather, I always keep some sail up or at least at hand. What would have happened if the engine had quit?
Michel Capel, Freedom 44 #4 1981 'Alabama Queen', NED8188, cat ketch with wishbones, home port Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, 52*42.238'N 005*18.154'E.

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Castaway
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:40 pm
Location: Lerwick, Shetland Isles

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by Castaway »

Agreeing with what Michel said, I would add that a bit of sail always makes the boat steadier when motoring in a sea, to the extent that it is worth heading slightly off the wind and tacking, if the course is dead to windward. As well as that, the tension of the sail and sheet will stabilise the mast along the length of the luff, reducing any tendency to "pump".
Gerald Freshwater,
s/y 'Castaway', (UK F35 cat ketch, centreboard, 1987)
Lerwick Boating Club
Shetland Isles, Scotland

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sailmon
Posts: 237
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:53 pm

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by sailmon »

Looks like my login timed out - so am re-posting. Sorry if this comes through twice.

Another cause of the annoying scraping/banging noise is the mast-base moving back and forth on the mast step as the boat moves in a seaway. The ID of most freedom masts are not an exact fit over the OD of the raised mast step. There are to common solutions are:
1. Carefully measure ID and OD and make plastic shims to take up space between the two. Need to be sure shims don't prevent mast from sliding all the way to the bottom of the step. On my F 30 we used 3 shims each held in place on the step with a countersunk flat head screw.
2. On our F 38 we simply put a heavy bead of silicone caulk around the base of the mast step before lowering the mast. The caulk creates a gasket and prevents the mast base from moving. Very important to not make a complete circle around the base with the silicone. Need to leave a 1-2" gap facing aft so (rain) water coming down the mast can drain into the bilge and ins't trapped in the mast.
Goes without saying that you should confirm that the wedge and ring are tight at the deck level and that the movement is't occurring at the partners.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by mike cunningham »

Out here in California I've found myself having to steam north to SF Bay from Santa Cruz or Monterey. Its sailable of course but of you are on a schedule it can be a very slow and tough sail to windward. The wind is almost always right on the nose.

I implement a variation of one already posted.

I'll swing my boom to the furthest extent of the traveler to starboard and tighten things up. I'll then take the main halyard (which Has an extra 10 feet in it ) down to the port stern cleat and put a strain on it. This seems to hold things nice and steady.

BTW, if I don't do this I can feel a definite twang as she falls off a swell into the trough. There's no physical movement that I can tell but I'm not to keen on the twang so I try to settle it down with the above arrangement. Seems to work pretty well.
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

daletournier
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:25 pm

Re: Severe weather sailing

Post by daletournier »

I also have a freedom 32 and in the last 18mths done alot windward sailing/motorsailing and in the chop your talking about. The top hat that your mast sits on is most likely lose. There are 2 x5/8 bolts with nuts that you can access and tighten. When motoring straight into chop there is little lateral load on the mast and mast chocks the mast can twist a little as over the years the internal mast diameter has increased and the fit on the step isnt as tight. The noise though will be from the mast step moving around due to loose bolts. I always have sail up and sail at a angle both for speed and comfort. Ive been caught out in 45knots and the boat handled its self well with the jib lashed and 2 reefs in the main sailing close hauled ( better than me ). I would rely on my sails any day over my engine even though I have a great engine. Tack your way to weather rather than smashing into it. Check those bolts, I doubt its a major problem.

Cheers Dale Tournier
freeform.

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