I have an 1982 F-25 with the wing mast. Today I had her out for the second time. LIght air. I noticed that the mast didn’t want to stay put, and if there was wake, it even shifted to fore/aft position without provocation. I want to race this boat, and I am interested to hear from owners who’ve tamed the monster - which just simply doesn’t always want to rotate to the perfect position, or for that matter, stay there after it’s been set. I’m thinking maybe 2:1 push pulls set from the mast vang fitting, led to the rails and then aft. Enlighten me. Please!
to,
I have the opposite problem, my mast is really hard to rotate and take a person to put a lot of effort to rotate the mast to get the boat moving again. I also also did a full bearing service for the top and bottom so all new parts. I would also like to put out their that the wing mast does make a huge difference when sailing when the mast is rotated to the correct position you can feel the boat power up.
cheers,
yarrow
I ran a line from the boom vang attachment point on the mast to the port and stb stanchion, though a block and then to a cleat on the cabin top. This way I could tame a mast that would move around too much ( little wind and too many wakes) or persuade the mast to rotate. Also, if there is too much tension on the boom vang or the main sheet the mast does not rotate easily.
Jim D
I assume that the lower, tapered roller bearing is on the right way (inner race with larger diameter on the bottom, smaller diameter facing up). It needs to handle the downward load imposed on the mast and still rotate freely. I likewise assume that the teflon insert at the mast partners is there, and greased with a thin film. My experience is that the mast loves to rotate freely. Lastly, on light days, the main halyard should be secured to the mast cleat, so that the halyard doesn’t interfere with easy rotation.
In our files there was a ,drawing showing the proper way thar the bearin in the mast was install. There also was some pictures that Trica posted showing the parts of the setup. In the archives there should somemore pic’s and commentary on the subject.
Harv F-25 (still for sale) 
Thanks for the suggestions, all. I’m going to take the control line route, and also the suggestion that menioned the halyard secured to the jam cleat on the mast in light airs.
Today, I drilled small holes in the toe rail and secured single blocks w/becket to the rail with 3/16" dacron rope square knotted on the outside. I then installed a tang on the underside of the vang attachment bolt and shackled blocks on each side. This will give me 2:1 purchase on the lines led aft, and a very short slightly-from-forward pull on the vang strut.
We’ll see how this setup works out.
Thanks again for the help. I’m sure I’ll be back for more!
The jam cleat on the mast should be used at all times backed up with the halyard clutch or deck cleat. If you rely solely on the clutch the tension on the halyard will vary depending on which tack you are on and the mast will have a harder time rotating. Leave some slack between the jam cleat on the mast and the rope clutch. I do not think a purchase is required for the line going from the mast to the rail, a straight line will suffice.
happy sailing
Jim D