Converting to Sail Track on Carbon Fiber Masts

Boat Systems
1

We are starting the process of converting our Freedom 40’ cat ketch from her original 1983 two ply wrap around sails to full batten, “roachy” sails set on a sail track mounted to the carbon fiber masts. We are working to generate a new sail plan, wishbone dimensions, reefing set-up, deck layout etc.

Can anyone with a similar set-up (sail tracks fastened to CF masts) describe or comment on the following;

a.) Type, dimension and manufacturer of the sail track used. We understand that a Metalmast extrusion with a wide flanged base may have been used by the factory but Metalmast is no more and those products are no longer available.

b.) The type and composition of the fasteners used (e.g. Monel rivets vs SS machine screws in a tapped hole, etc.)

c.) Was any supplemental fixation to the mast via epoxy, Plexus, 5200, Sikaflex etc., used?

d.) Were any precautions taken to reduce the possibility of corrosion between fasteners and CF masts?

e.) Does anyone have practical experience with the Antal HS22 sail track? for this application?

f.) Has anyone had any problems with their metal sail track/CF mast combination that we should be aware of before we start our project?

Finally does anyone know how CF mast builders (Hall, GMT Composites, etc.) or boat builders (Wyliecat) handle this particular problem?

Thank you in advance for any comments or suggestions you might have and for sharing the benefits of your collective wisdom and experiences.

Rick Wright
aka “Tatoosh”
Freedom 40, cat ketch #63
Currently on the hard at Onancock, VA

2

Our F40 CC, BEYOND, is hull number 16 and we hope to do the same thing in a couple of years.

I have read that rivets are the way to attach the tracks, as they do not put continuous stress on the mast; as do self tapping screws.

Here are a couple of links that may help.

Affordable sails - http://maurisails.com/category/Sails-For-Freedom-40-CC-Boom.html

Affordable tracks - http://www.tidesmarine.com/sail-track.shtml

gb

3

a.) Type, dimension and manufacturer of the sail track used. We understand that a Metalmast extrusion with a wide flanged base may have been used by the factory but Metalmast is no more and those products are no longer available.

I have Antal track on my mainmast, Tydes Marine Strong track on the mizzen.

b.) The type and composition of the fasteners used (e.g. Monel rivets vs SS machine screws in a tapped hole, etc.)

My mainmast is custom built in 2000 with much larger wall thickness (12 mm) than original mizzen. Main track from Antal is fastened with stainless machine screws in tapped holes. No problems since I own the boat (2006). Mizzen mast with 8 mm wall thickness has stainless rivets. Some rivets in the bottom 4’ of track have been replaced because they came out. I added more rivets all the way up the mast because original installer had skipped every other rivet hole in the track.

c.) Was any supplemental fixation to the mast via epoxy, Plexus, 5200, Sikaflex etc., used?

No. Perhaps Loctite on the machine screws in the main mast.

d.) Were any precautions taken to reduce the possibility of corrosion between fasteners and CF masts?

Use of stainless fasteners, nothing else that I’m aware of.

e.) Does anyone have practical experience with the Antal HS22 sail track? for this application?

I don’t know the ID of my Antal track but I find it very good, durable and well made. I looked up the Antal HS22 and it looks like the track I have. I have Antal sliders with tufnol inserts and they slide like devils. No moving parts.

f.) Has anyone had any problems with their metal sail track/CF mast combination that we should be aware of before we start our project?

Make sure your fasteners can’t be pulled out. It gives a rough oversized hole. I would suggest monel or stainless rivets with the largest ‘blob’ available for the inside of the mast. So you need good long rivets that deform only at the end of the shaft into a nice round or better, flat blob.Run away from rivets that expand along their shaft, they will ruin your mast laminate. Test your rivets of choice on a piece of plastic with the same wall thickness as the mast and adjust your rivet tool to get the right deformation of the rivet. Use a sophisticated adjustable rivet tool if you can. For a standard 8 mm wall Freedom mast, I feel machine screws don’t have enough meat to hold. Whatever you do, never use self tapping screws on CF. They break open and splinter the laminate. I tried mounting hardware with monel rivnuts but have not a very good experience because they only have a small blob/edge to hold onto the inside of the mast. Most rivnuts are made for mountings in sheet metal which is much tougher than CF.

Finally does anyone know how CF mast builders (Hall, GMT Composites, etc.) or boat builders (Wyliecat) handle this particular problem?

My main mast was built by GMT in 2000 and I think they put on the Antal track. They did a very good job with one of the more expensive tracks (Antal is up market, I think). There is Wyliecat Yahoo group where you could post a query to Wyliecat owners. They are techies, do a lot of experiments with rigs so you probably get valuable answers.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wyliecats/

4

I have seen some bargain (because of wishbone rig) larger Freedoms on Yacht Trader and was thinking if I could afford to move up to one of these what the sail conversion options were…

Has anybody tried replacing the wrap-around sails with sails using mast hoops or rope loops with parrel beads?
It seams to me it would be a great way to convert without the cost and hassle of mounting a track. Plus they don’t jam when lowering the sail.
I am also told the can improve the aerodynamics of the sail (vs. sail on track) by allowing the luff to rotate to the lee of the large diameter mast.
There is a gaff headed Ketch at my club that use them.

5

Clark,

The photo you show is of a traditional Dutch sailing fisherman converted to yacht. They have leeboards and are still built new as yachts and they are surprisingly fast. We’ve used parrels here for centuries. There’s one Freedom 33/35 catketch named ‘Samiel’ with a setup like this and she sails like stink. Have a look on this board for the G10 rig. There are photo’s and sketches. There are two small downsides to this setup: it involves some extra rigging to tension the luff rope and you can’t mount radar or other hardware on the masts, like with the wrap-arounds.

6

Rick,

I converted my UK F35ck to tracks earlier this year. Still happy after a a summer testing.

I used ronstan 19 track, with a wide base to glue it to the mast. I believe the track is very similar to the antal hs22, but my mastmaker preferred to use ronstan for better supplies in holland. The track is glued (with metacrylate?) and at the reefing points additionally fixed, tapped and screwed (not self-tapped). I hired a carbonfibre mast maker to do the job.

Had some learning moments this summer, but track is holding great. Other things break first :slight_smile:

To solve the choker question, I made steel rings with eyes around the mast.

At the dutch freedom reunion this summer, G10 rig owners were very interested (had hoped to see you there as well, michel, to have a look at your rigging…) I think the G10 rig has its downsides, but is more affordable.

Martijn

7

Does anyone have more info on the G10 rig ? I am looking at converting my F35
Mike