Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)
I happened to read the review of the F-25. There were some interesting
comments about the rotating mast. I’ve used rotating masts on racing
cats and the rotator setup was pretty easy to use. I can’t imagine it
being much different on the 25 and there’s a clear benefit to
rotation. Any of you F-25 owners read the article? What did you think
of the review?
Posted by WILFRED BISHOP (wilf.bishop@…>)
I currently own a Freedom 21 (UK sail number 205) and would eventually like to move to a Freedom 25. The Good Old Boat magazine is not seen on UK newsstands - even in sailing areas. Would it be possible for any Freedom Group member who has the article to scan it & email it to me please? I would be most interested to read it?
Wilf Bishop
wilf.bishop@…
----- Original Message -----
From: Dave_Benjamin
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 12:10 AM
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] F-25 article in Good Old Boat
I happened to read the review of the F-25. There were some interestingcomments about the rotating mast. I’ve used rotating masts on racingcats and the rotator setup was pretty easy to use. I can’t imagine itbeing much different on the 25 and there’s a clear benefit torotation. Any of you F-25 owners read the article? What did you thinkof the review?
Posted by Herman Schiller (schiller@…>)
The article seems to have repeated some folklore about the wing-mast.
The Freedom folks went to the round mast to save money on what was a
very expensive 25-footer in 1982 ($22.5K). I haven’t the faintest idea
what the comment about sheeting the mainsail leech to windward is all
about. The main is sheeted quite conventionally, and with minimal
weather helm. A hint for best performance with a cat boat is to pay
close attention to the telltales at the luff and leech. My Freedom 25
(wing mast) rotates, and the rotation limiter is set up to have smooth
flow (fair curve) between between the leeward side of the mast onto
the leeward side of the mainsail. I liken sailing my 25 as being very
similar to sailing a giant “Laser”, another high-performance catboat.
The rotation limiter line runs from a hole in the rotation limiter arm
to the boom where it’s secured by a Clam cleat. Yes, the Freedom 25
sails at mooring, like other cat boats (such as the Nonsuch). I
replaced the teensy original anchor line chocks, the first year I
owned this boat (1990), to accept reasonable chafe protection. This
boat was moored in a mooring field in the Hudson River for 8 years
with no real problem caused by the sailing about.
The spinnaker doesn’t have any going forward to “set” it. The
spinnaker “resides” in a fabric sleeve along the boat’s side deck. The
guy/sheets, halyard and retracting line all remain permanently
connected to the spinnaker while it’s “dormant” in the sleeve. This
type of spinnaker deployment system is familiar to people that sail
high-performnce dinghys such as the 505 and Flying Dutchman classes.
Gary Hoyt’s contribution to the state of the art is the “gun mount”,
which puts a pivoting yard on the top of a reinforced bow pulpit. The
very nice thing about the yard is that it absorbs the pull of the
sail, thereby making the forces on the guy/sheets very small, which
can be directly handled with bare hands, unlike the force on a
spinnaker sheet that requires a winch to cope with. Obviously, the
author of this article has not completely “mastered this concept”
based on his comments.
Lastly, the wing mast’s efficiency to windward does not require the
blade jib mentioned in the article. However, I believe that the later
round cross section mast might benefit from the blade jib because
there’s much more turbulence behind such a mast.
For the Freedom 25 wing mast folks that need a new mast boot, consider
visiting your nearby plumbing supply and ask to see a “Fernco” fitting
meant to join 6" copper/plastic to 6" clay/cast-iron piping. This
fitting is made of “bulletproof” neoprene, which last the lifetime of
the boat.
Herm ('82 Freedom 25 “Cats Pause”)
– In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Dave_Benjamin”
<dave_benjamin@…> wrote:
I happened to read the review of the F-25. There were some
interesting
comments about the rotating mast. I’ve used rotating masts on racing
cats and the rotator setup was pretty easy to use. I can’t imagine it
being much different on the 25 and there’s a clear benefit to
rotation. Any of you F-25 owners read the article? What did you think
of the review?
Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)
Herman,
Your comments are what I expected to hear. I used to own a racing
catamaran which had a rotating mast. It was just another string to
pull but no big deal. The performance boost was quite noticeable.
I wonder if a stem mounted padeye just above waterline combined with
a snubber would reduce the sailing on a mooring.
I’ve been invited by one of the list members to sail on a F-25 w/
rotating mast. I’m really looking forward to it when the weather
warms up. We’re having some snow flurries right now.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Herman Schiller”
<schiller@…> wrote:
The article seems to have repeated some folklore about the wing-
mast.
The Freedom folks went to the round mast to save money on what was
a
very expensive 25-footer in 1982 ($22.5K). I haven’t the faintest
idea
what the comment about sheeting the mainsail leech to windward is
all
about. The main is sheeted quite conventionally, and with minimal
weather helm. A hint for best performance with a cat boat is to
pay
close attention to the telltales at the luff and leech. My Freedom
25
(wing mast) rotates, and the rotation limiter is set up to have
smooth
flow (fair curve) between between the leeward side of the mast
onto
the leeward side of the mainsail. I liken sailing my 25 as being
very
similar to sailing a giant “Laser”, another high-performance
catboat.
The rotation limiter line runs from a hole in the rotation limiter
arm
to the boom where it’s secured by a Clam cleat. Yes, the Freedom
25
sails at mooring, like other cat boats (such as the Nonsuch). I
replaced the teensy original anchor line chocks, the first year I
owned this boat (1990), to accept reasonable chafe protection.
This
boat was moored in a mooring field in the Hudson River for 8 years
with no real problem caused by the sailing about.
The spinnaker doesn’t have any going forward to “set” it. The
spinnaker “resides” in a fabric sleeve along the boat’s side deck.
The
guy/sheets, halyard and retracting line all remain permanently
connected to the spinnaker while it’s “dormant” in the sleeve.
This
type of spinnaker deployment system is familiar to people that
sail
high-performnce dinghys such as the 505 and Flying Dutchman
classes.
Gary Hoyt’s contribution to the state of the art is the “gun
mount”,
which puts a pivoting yard on the top of a reinforced bow pulpit.
The
very nice thing about the yard is that it absorbs the pull of the
sail, thereby making the forces on the guy/sheets very small,
which
can be directly handled with bare hands, unlike the force on a
spinnaker sheet that requires a winch to cope with. Obviously,
the
author of this article has not completely “mastered this concept”
based on his comments.
Lastly, the wing mast’s efficiency to windward does not require
the
blade jib mentioned in the article. However, I believe that the
later
round cross section mast might benefit from the blade jib because
there’s much more turbulence behind such a mast.
For the Freedom 25 wing mast folks that need a new mast boot,
consider
visiting your nearby plumbing supply and ask to see a “Fernco”
fitting
meant to join 6" copper/plastic to 6" clay/cast-iron piping. This
fitting is made of “bulletproof” neoprene, which last the lifetime
of
the boat.
Herm ('82 Freedom 25 “Cats
Pause”)
– In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Dave_Benjamin”
<dave_benjamin@> wrote:
I happened to read the review of the F-25. There were some
interesting
comments about the rotating mast. I’ve used rotating masts on
racing
cats and the rotator setup was pretty easy to use. I can’t
imagine it
being much different on the 25 and there’s a clear benefit to
rotation. Any of you F-25 owners read the article? What did you
think
of the review?