FreedomYachts.org

When I was researching a replacement for the Syntron I talked to a guy at Norscott. Seemed to be pretty knowledgeable and was willing to discuss the seal at length. Maybe you should call them directly. Some folks will talk up a storm but won't write an e-mail worth a damn.

This is a good topic. I just completed the singlehanded transpac and struggled to put together a med kit. Not so much the content but actually obtaining the drugs. My HMO would not prescribe painkillers. I did not request stimulants. I was able to obtain antibiotics. Any ideas on strategies for obta...

And there are a ton of articles about core replacement via Google search. I would be very suprised if the partners would be compromised by relatively minor core delam. I don't have any facts but freedom did a reasonable engineering job so I suspect partners are pretty solid. I would tap it out and s...

I have removed the holding tank and y valve in my 30. I had planned to remove all head plumbing and seal through hull before a recent race but ran out of time. I realize I am now illegal inshore. I single-handed almost exclusively and hate the thought of sewage sloshing around in a tank inside my bo...

During the singlehanded transpac I ran into the remnants of hurricane Celia and had to deal with 40 knot winds for a few hours. Prior to this I had been sailing in 30 Knots for about a day and a half. During the last 12 to 18 hours I was down to the jib only and continued to make over six knots down...

Jacqueline and I finished the single-handed transpac from SF to Hanalei Bay, Hawaii at about 0200 HST 20 July. Thanks to all of you who provided input on my reported problems, it was extremely helpful and confidence building to get feedback which helped me understand how serious an issue might be. S...

I have had a xanterx true charge in for about 9 years now. Still going strong. Also my three 110 AH Lifeline AGMs are still going strong after that same amount of time. Pretty good performance on the AGMs! I baby them, try to recharge max possible and temps are maintained within pretty hi lo limits ...

I look forward to hearing how the butyl caulk works. In prep for leaving Great Lakes and retirement cruising (leaving summer 2017) we will be taking mast down and moving boat into shop this winter (change from VC 17 to ocean paint, raise water line, adjust mast step, install new equipment...). Clea...

Getting ready to step too. the steps described by previous poster look spot on. I also agree with the butyl tape approach as opposed to silicone. I plan on using butyl around the mast collar base as well as to seal the gap between collar and mast and the bolt ends, I have become a complete convert t...

OK, yes, the upward force could also be an issue, there certainly is a lot of upward force applied to the partners by the halyards. My halyards are led through blocks attached to the mast ring so I assume the area around the partners is robustly engineered on the 30 since I see no evidence of any mo...