New mast?

[Crossjack]

Hello, Our friends (not Freedom owners) needed to replace their mast the other week as cracks had appeared in theirs and without one, the boat couldnt do the 2009 Fastnet Race. The cost was around £5000. It made me wonder where on earth we would get a new mast if 'god forbid' we ever needed one! Crossjack is a Freedom 33 based in Southampton in the UK and the mast isnt carbon fibre. Any ideas?

[marno]

I don't know if it is true, but I have heard of people using aluminium telegraph poles. Best advice though is not to need a replacement.....

[THATBOATGUY]

Hey Marno,

Ours are schedule 40 aluminum pipe with tapered flag poles stuck in them. That's how they were done prior to the carbon fiber ones. They show no signs of giving up the ghost.

George

[Michel]

Carbospars in Southampton (UK) can build carbon fiber Freedom masts. I asked them for a quote years ago. Forgot what they quoted. In the Netherlands, I asked a producer of street lamp posts if they could build tapered freestanding aluminium masts and yes, they could, if they had the specs and metallurgic recipe of the masts.

EDIT: Carbospars does not exist anymore. Quality problems with aerorigs and bad management did them in, so it seems. But there must be other producers of tapered round section CF masts in the UK. If not there, in the Netherlands there are several.

[Scaramanga]

Masts can be repaired

[briank]

Hi

You can get new tapered alloy masts from Needlespar in the UK, "18 ft to 55 ft, anodised black or silver. Each mast is hand-crafted and tailored to your exact design and requirements". No web site known, but their phone no. is +44 2392 463864 or email Needlespar@hawkmarineproducts.com

They advertise in the Junk Rig Association's (www.junkrigs.com) paper magazine and mainly supply through Sunbird Yachts (www.sunbirdmarine.com). Sunbird have re-rigged several Freedom 30s and 35s as junks.

Brian Kerslake
F39PHS 'Paradox'
Brighton UK

[Crossjack]

Hi All,
Appeciate your replies... Humm - an aluminium telegraph pole, not sure whether you are having me on here?? Does that mean I would pop down the local council to ask if they have any spare ones! or would a mast producer be able to fashion one together? If no one has ever had to replace one, they must be good eh!

We are pretty careful and reef whenever the winds strengthen, but as we all know the bends in the mast can be pretty amazing even in just a F4.

The mast is due to come out next year as part of our 5 year MCA safety coding - lets just keep fingers crossed that nothing untowards arises...

Emma

Edit: just getting used to doing forums. Ignore my bit about asking a mast producer to build one. Its already been answered. Thanks All...

[THATBOATGUY]

I wasn't kidding about how ours are made BTW.



This one is not ours but you can see the straight pipe, then a little transition cone going to the flag pole portion.

George

[Michel]

I had the same construction of aluminum masts on my UK built F33/35 catketch. However, on the inside, there is a third section going up several yards into the top tapered section. So including the transition cone the masts consists of four pieces. It looked as if someone had thought about it really well, because the length of the sections is different for the main and the mizzen mast. Total mast length is the same on both masts, but because the mizzen sits deeper, the outside section is longer on the mizzen. They really tried to get the bending on both masts at the same points above deck.

[THATBOATGUY]

Yes! Thanks Michel, that's correct for our masts as well. There is a machined aluminum inner transition. The method of combining upper and lower, as it has been described to me, involves a forklift and some rather low technology application of force.

George