seaworthiness

Salacia
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:09 pm

Re: seaworthiness

Post by Salacia »

Hi Mike,
Peter McCrea in a Freedom 32 has won his division in the Newport-Bermuda 1-2 several times. The race is single handed to Bermuda and double handed back. You are crossing the Gulf Stream both ways. Your boat can do the race to Hawaii and back. (Maybe not comfortably, but it can do it.)
Have lots of pad eyes, hand holds, good reefing points and sun block!
Have fun.
Stephen Lee
Salacia
F35 Pedrick
Marblehead MA and Rockland ME

Tricia
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:59 pm

Re: seaworthiness/mast cable

Post by Tricia »

About the foam in the mast:
I rewired my mast a few years ago. The cable was wrapped in foam that was shedding all over the place. I'm pretty sure it was the original installation and the foam was what was used to keep the cables quiet in the mast. When I put the new cable in, I put a group of 3 zipties about every 3 feet, with the groups of 3 fanned out 120* to keep the cable centred. It has worked perfectly - no noise, no interference with halyards, no foam debris.

One of the things I would do if going offshore would be to find a way to secure the plywood lids under the settees so that they would stay put in case of a knockdown or worse.

Tricia
F30 "Muse II"
Vancouver, BC

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

Re: seaworthiness

Post by sailmon »

Gamayun,
The (very annoying) mast creak you referred to a few posts up is normally caused by the base of the mast shifting back and forth on the mast step - rather than movement at the partners. The problem has been discussed pretty extensively on this board. A number of approaches have been used to eliminate the movement (shimming, gluing, build-up of glass tape, etc). Makes for interesting reading and great peace of mind - if you pursue one of the fixes.
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: seaworthiness

Post by mike cunningham »

Thanks everyone for the useful replies. Sorry to have not thanked you sooner. I have a wicked commute and most of my browsing is done on a smart phone which is terrible for posting to forums.

The camberspar as widow-maker. Interesting observation. I have had one scary experience with the camberspar; if not close to making my wife a widow, certainly close to making a complete fool of myself.

I was on a run in the Delta and went forward to look a something or take a picture or whatever. The AP was steering in 4 to 6 kts apparent - not much. Being on the warm delta I was in slacker mode and not paying attention. The boat rolled a little and the cambersar jibed right into my butt (I was at the pulpit). I was very nearly flung overboard. The force in the sail was surprising. I had my vest on so I would probably have popped to the surface to watch my boat sail itself right into a levee at five knots.

I have never experienced a situation where the jib became separated from the camberspar. That would be a pain in any wind at all, particularly on a nasty day in the slot.

I have signed up for the singlehanded Farallons so I suppose I will find out soon enough what is good and what is not so good. I plan to go up to the bay a few days before the race and do some practicing in hopes I can better prepare myself and the boat.
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

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

Re: seaworthiness

Post by sailmon »

The mast creak is normally caused by the mast inside diameter being slightly larger than the outside diameter of the mast step. I think a number of approaches to fixing have been discussed on this board. I used thin shims (glued and screwed to the mast step) on my F30 with good results. I'm about to undertake a fix for the same problem on our F38 - although not sure what approach I will use.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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

Re: seaworthiness

Post by mike cunningham »

Just completed the SFBaySSS singlehanded Farallons race. Didn't do so well in the standings but completed the race which was my goal. I believe my racing performance has much more to do with my lack of strategy and skill than it does with the boat. So far my racing career has been focused on finishing the race and not getting killed in the process..ha ha

My purpose for posting on this thread was to update on experiences in a more challenging environment than the SF Bay. At the beginning of the race inside the bay we had about 10Kts of wind, offshore this pumped up to 20Kts with gusts to 22 or 23 Kts. Maybe a bit windier on the way home but I lost my windvane while rounding South Farallon so not too sure. My windvane was mounted on a homemade pole secured to the stern rail with HDPE brackets which I fabricated. My AIS GPS receiver was also up there. The pole broke just as I was setting up to round the island and in view of the notorious Maintop Bay where Low Speed Chase went aground in 2012. So there I was struggling with a 12 foot pole hanging off the stern at a critical juncture of the race. I was ready to tear the wiring out and jettison the whole thing but the AP saved the day and allowed me the freedom to sort the mess out and bring the pole aboard.

The boat handled beautifully throughout and I felt comfortable in the 7 or 8 foot swell with 3 to 4 foot wind waves. She did pound from time to time. A few bone rattlers. But no worries she felt very solid. However, my poor understanding of the effects of a seaway on the contents of the boat were on full display. I was pretty thorough about carefully securing heavy stuff like tools and batteries but I had all kinds of stuff come out of its storage and fly around the cabin:flashlights, charts, blankets and pillows and so forth. I was really not able to go below during the race but I had built new clear plexi locking washboards to comply with race requirements so I could watch all this stuff slosh around the cabin as I made my way through the race. Have to do some serious re-oganization of my stuff after this experience.

Last year I bought some newer sails from Gary Venable who is on this board from time to time. I have not bent them on yet figuring that I should get a clue what I am doing before I expose the new sails to my mistakes. I think these will help my performance some if I apply myself to proper sail trim and give my sailing plan a little thought before the race. My current sails are original believe it or not, 29 years old this June. That can't be helping me.

So the takeaways were:

The boat was under control and handled well
She handled the conditions confidently, I was comfortable throughout (mentally, not necessarily physically)
When you stow your stuff, triple check security, it is amazing how stuff finds its way out of storage. Heavy stuff must be locked down tight
When you engineer home made items for the boat, do not underestimate the stress they will be exposed to
Make sure you have an AP and a remote which was really handy
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

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