Ok people. Which one of the holes on the inboard end of the spar is for the topping lift and which one for the sheet?
As you know there is a sort of oval metal loop welded to the end of the spar. One loop is pretty snug to the spar while the other stands proud 3 or 4 inches.
I think I have them backwards but no mention of this rigging in the F30 manual I possess. A strange exclusion given the uniqueness of the spar. And, I admit, a strange question to be asking after 23 years of ownership.
I was looking at mine this week and wondered the same thing…
I think the long side goes towards the deck but it seems as it would work either way. That’s how I’m set up anyway.
Here’s what mine looks like. Can’t guarantee that it’s right, just the way it has always been.
Thanks for this question, Mike, because I see some info posted that I had not come across yet. Now that you know which end is up (which is funny because the camberspar can only go one way when the sail is up) you might put a topping lift on the loop that’s on top. It keeps the camberspar in the correct orientation and also keeps the whole sail off the deck, particularly helpful if you have a hatch over the v-berth.
Hi Gamayun,
To keep the camber spar off the deck, attach a cable clamp to the forestay the height of the bow pulpit and below the spar. That plus the topping lift will keep it up for mooring or anchoring.
Hi Stephen,
Any chance you can post a pic of the cable clamp suggestion? It’s not quite clear in my mind. Thanks,
Riki
Hi Rikki,
Maybe I used the wrong term. Wire rope clamp is a better term. I think this is about the right size.
I would suggest using a plastic sail chafe protector instead, as metal clamps like these can bend/weaken the strands of wire. Also, it’s always good to avoid sharp edges (like the threaded ends of the U-bolt) near the sail. Harken makes this one, and Ronstan makes a cheaper version. You may need to drill out the center hole a bit to open it up. Mine has been in place for 3 years without issue.
I put a Dyneema forestay on after breaking the wire twice in 3 years. I like that sail chafe “platform” as a way of keeping the sail from dropping onto the deck. My plan was to run a PVC pipe a little ways up the forestay to have the camberspar rest on that, but always felt a bit hackneyed and wouldn’t stand up to UV for very long.
Funny you guys mentioning the standoff. I removed the forestay at the deck and slid it through a foot long section of very stiff air pump hose. Does a nice job keeping the jib off the deck.
Thanks everyone for the feedback on the camber spar doohickey attachment. I will experiment with both approaches and see which one makes it easiest to raise and lower the sail.
Gamayun, yeah, that’s been bothering me. The sail does not flake down the way it used to and I think that is because I fouled this up. I do have a topping lift rigged.
To be clear, I have had the jib off and on many times and probably had it right ocassionally
Lots of good ideas here. Here’s a shot of my setup after the sail is flaked and covered.
It occurs to me that a simple chafe protector commonly used of shrouds (on non-Freedoms of course 
) might be a simple solution for the headstay issue.
Had my jib raised at the dock today to install a piece of chafe protector on the forestay and manually pushed the jib between port and starboard tacks. It was pretty easy to see why the sheet block should be attached to the extended eye facing down, as it gave the sheet block just enough leverage to rotate the camber spar over to the new tack. Once powered up on the new tack, the “lever arm” was at about a 45 degree angle and the camber was in the correct position. The topping lift is attached to the short section on top and becomes more useful off the wind and in lighter air but doesn’t really do much for the camber rotation.
Out of curiosity, I looked at some photos I had taken while chartering an F30 in the BVI back when they were new. Sure enough, it was rigged with the long arm down and to the sheet block!
What the heck? Sunnyislemark, it looks like you have it rigged differently in the two pics you posted, the BVI pic has it one way and the previous pic post has it the other. Am I channeling you or are you channeling me? hahahaha. But I think we all agree the BVI pic has it right.
One key thing that may have happened in my case - yep - this is gonna be a story
So when I was doing my first race to Hawaii in 2016 I wound up in rough weather in the dregs of tropical storm Celiea 200 NM from Kauai. I experienced about 45Kts of wind. I had the jib up but did not have a preventer on the camberspar and I experienced a number of very hard camberspar jibes as the wind was blowing from dead astern and I no longer had the energy to fuss with it. I was busy hanging on to my hat. Anyway, about halfway through that thrashing the jib self destructed, the camberspar bent almost in half and I sailed the rest of the way to Hawaii with my storm jib rigged (If I had rigged the earlier I would have saved the camberspar). After that LP passed I had the most beautiful sailing of my life for the last 150 NM. During this sail I had a chance to get forward, pull the spar off and get the storm jib set up. But as I did this I realized not only was the spar bent and the sail blown out, but the doohickey we have been talking about had been torn off the spar and was dangling overboard on the sheet.
When I got home my sailmaker (Pineapple in SF) got the spar bent back to the correct radius and either they or I had the doohickey rewelded to the spar. I can’t remember who did it. Now, guess what, I bet we put the doohickey on backwards since no one had a clue which way it was supposed to go. With the long bit pointing the wrong way I would not have the leverage sunny was talking about and that might result in weird things happening. I will go down to the boat today and see if that is what happened. I will report findings.
On a related note. In the 2018 singlehanded transpac I had installed a gun mount, pole and spinnaker. I had purchased the spin and gear from a fellow on this board but the spin was in pretty lousy shape (seller warned me) and, like a fool, I took it to sea. I flew it for about 30 minutes before it blew out in 15 Kts. But, big but…I soon realized the spinnaker pole could be locked orthogonal to the boat and made into a superb preventer for the main and the jib. When I got this set up I felt like I was sailing a windjammer, we were ripping downhill with all sails set and pulling hard 24/7 for a week. Sweet! Same deal on the way home once I got around the high.
duplicate
With regard to bending the camberspar back into proper shape, Pineapple sails was able to find data regarding the appropriate bend for the camberspar. I don’t know where they got it but that info is out in the wild. If you need data on how to construct and configure a new spar, for example, the necessary info is available, at least to sailmakers.
[quote=“mike cunningham” post_id=54672 time=1655569933 user_id=144]
[snip] On a related note. In the 2018 singlehanded transpac I had installed a gun mount, pole and spinnaker. I had purchased the spin and gear from a fellow on this board but the spin was in pretty lousy shape (seller warned me) and, like a fool, I took it to sea. I flew it for about 30 minutes before it blew out in 15 Kts. But, big but…I soon realized the spinnaker pole could be locked orthogonal to the boat and made into a superb preventer for the main and the jib. When I got this set up I felt like I was sailing a windjammer, we were ripping downhill with all sails set and pulling hard 24/7 for a week. Sweet! Same deal on the way home once I got around the high.
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I always enjoy your stories, Mike!! But wait…please tell us more about how you set up your orthogonal pole into a preventer. Michael Jefferson (Mouton Noir) just put a ringy-dingy on Kynntana’s mast (he’d been bugging me about my downwind sails for YEARS) so now I’m really intrigued about its other uses.
Also, FYI – Kamie and Sally are retiring from Pineapple Sails. Shutting down the business; it may already be closed. Can you get that camberspar info from them and post on the forum before it’s gone forever?
(Oh, post script. I see what you wrote was about the gummount and not a “real” pole. I’ve never had a gummount for Kynntana 
I always learn a lot about my Freedom on this forum , and love the creative ideas. I just ordered a set of two Spreader Life Line Rollers from Amazon.
Speaking of camber spars…
How high do you guys have the topping lift set? It doesn’t seem like my spar flips around like it’s supposed to. Both my telltails are flyiing well, but the sail never really looks right to me.
Unless you are in really light air and want to keep the clew suspended, you should keep slack in the topping lift to avoid fighting the sheet when you need to go upwind or when the wind picks up.
As for flipping during a tack, make sure the sheet is attached to the long part of the clew fitting and that the camber spar tension is not too high.
Just setting up my camber spar for the first time, on the fitting for the forestay, what type of pin/ bolt is used? TIA John