Problems Aloft

[Polecat.ssl]

I have a Freedom 44, #3 , Polecat, built in 81. I've have had the boat for about 5 years and have not yet pulled the masts. The boat is currently in Mexico, and I lost my topping lift in tropical storm Blanca. Planning on pulling main mast this fall, and wondering if there are any endimic issues that I should be aware of.

Thanks,

S. Lutz

[rds]

In my case, the number one issue was loud banging. I pulled my main mast out some time in 2010. It was easy... however some people reported difficulties of removing 'doughnut'. (but if worse comes to worst you can produce the new wedge out of Spartite.. detailed threads how to do it are on this forum )
My top hat had significantly smaller diameter than the inner mast surface , so I rolled several layers of fiberglass around top hat to make the tight joint .. so far so good.. ( All attempts of prev. owner to pour resin into clearance failed ). Also visually check all stressed areas to make sure no cracks or something ..

You might also try to undertake a big project of repairing circular cracks in mast’s gel coat.. this has been discussed in great details somewhere on this forum as well…

at least on my boat I got manual SL windlass and I could not access the furthermost bolts, securing windlass to deck because of the mast so it might be time to get into ‘windlass’ business as well...

[bad]

+1 above. I imagine there is more than the topping lift as to why you are dropping the mast? The partners on deck can be hard to get out. Wooden blocks, a heavy mallet, and something to protect the mast as you are hammering away...

Spartite is expensive. The same polyurethane product is available at a mould/art supply store such as http://www.artstuf.com/. You can do the same hardness or harder as Spartite. I used a thin PVC sheet with a hole the diameter of the mast as the bottom of the mould. You can build up the deck if curved or slanted. Wax wax wax both the mast and hull.

Eric Sponberg's website has the repair procedure for fixing any surface crazing on the mast.

Good luck and take pictures...

Erik

[jamesorr]

As someone who stores his boat inside -- my mast gets pulled every year. My first yard thought you could just "pull" the mast and it would pop out -- ha ha, not a chance. A properly installed urethane wedge (OEM) will NOT (as I saw the boat being pulled out of the water...) come out this way -- even with the mast collar off. The second approach was a woodblock and a hammer and then small sledge hammer from below -- being careful to not hit the mast! This did work but was not ideal, was time consuming (i.e. 10 minutes+) and somewhat "concerning" re: potential mast damage.

Several years later, we moved to our current yard where me moved to inside winter storage and the annual mast removal process. Luckily, the staff has experience with the Freedom mast removal process. The gentleman who removes the wedge does so with a large screwdriver (although a smaller pry bar should also work). The edges of the wedges do not fully meet, leaving a gap of approximately an inch (perhaps a bit less). He inserts his "pry" tool into this gap from above and works one end of the wedge out. Once he has enough of the wedge out, the whole thing loosens up and he pulls the balance up by hand. Start to finish perhaps 30 seconds and no dramatics involved -- really an easy process once you see it done.

[rds]

Interesting , I always wondered if my main mast's wedge had deliberate cut in it by some past owner/s or it came from factory like that ? is it supposed to be cut ? James, it looks like your wedge has cut and gap in it as well (the same as mine ) .
What it the orientation of this cut/gap relative to the middle line of hull ? (rear of the mast , forward , to one side ?) I cut something like a small ‘insert’ out of urethane block of the same hardness. It goes into the gap and slightly pushes out into the edges of the wedge. It might be a minor issue but my thinking was that this 'insert' distributes the pressure more uniformly around the mast and makes whole wedge a bit stiffer ? .. That small gap and the edges somehow create an excessive local pressure spike against the surface of the mast . And if this cut is normal, then perhaps I overcomplicate things ?

[jamesorr]

My suspicion is that the "cut" is as it comes from the factory, because without it, not sure how one would remove it otherwise. As far as whether the gap would cause a point loading problem -- my bet is that it shouldn't (i.e. it has been in my since I have owned it (10 years) and the previous owner probably also had the same gap). When I first got the boat, I did get the old mast clunk on certain points of sail/wave conditions, but this was do to a very small difference in the inside of the mast/outside of the top hat at the mast base. Got some accurate calipers to measure both and built up some resin at the bottom 2 inches of the inside of the mast -- no problems since. The mast collar area -- that has never moved/made noises. As far as to where the gap is oriented -- it tends to be midway between the starboard/bow of the boat, although I would imagine it could be oriented in other ways. As far as making the whole wedge stiffer -- I would struggle to believe that that would be possible for the wedge installed in my boat.

[Polecat.ssl]

thanks for the advise about that deck partner removal. That could be real helpful. However I was mostly trying to find out if there is any history of issues with the mast head. My 44 has external halyards and hanging blocks, so a lot is hanging on 30 something year old hardware. The boat is in Mexico, so it is helpful to anticipate problems and have specific hardware needs on hand as one crosses the boarder. Has anyone had specific problems with the harware and or masthead fixturing, or assembled a general parts list for service aloft, or even better, Engineering drawings?