Freedom 28 Sloop mainsail rigging?

Boat Systems
1

Trying to figure out the right way to rig my mainsail. The sail has a ring at the clew with a double pulley for the reef lines attached. It is a loose footed main, so when the outhaul is slack, the entire foot of the sail raises up above the boom. Should there be something to hold that ring to the boom or does that sound correct?

Also wondering if anyone knows how many 28 sloops were made. You don’t seem to see them for sale on line very often…

Thanks,
Rich

2

Hi Rich,
The clew should be attached to a slide that runs along the slot in the boom. Alternatively you can attach the clew to a webbing strap around the boom.
Michael

3

I owned a Freedom 28 a few years ago and doing my research learned that there were about 50 built. I owned hull number 2 which was actually the first boat built and was introduced at a boat show in San Francisco where the original owner purchased it. He moved it to Marina del Rey where it remained till I bought it in 2004.

4

That is interesting, ours is #29. I wonder if low production numbers are a good thing or bad… Seems like someone has probably done every conceivable modification to a Catalina 30 that could be thought of, but there are very few thinking about mods for a Freedom 28.

5

That must have been the problem, that slide on our boat doesn’t slide very well… I’m thinking we will try a rope loop around the boom, that should slide much easier…

6

For what it’s worth, I am having new sails made this year for my F28 (hull #33), and my sailmaker recommends a strop for the clew over the original slug/slide. Not sure how much difference one makes over the other but I’m still looking forward to new sails!

7

I’ve got hull 46, which I believe is the last hull built. From what I’ve heard, Freedom had a hard time making money on the 28. It had most of the features of the bigger and more expensive boats at a lower price.
We flew the original sails till 2 years ago. The foot had a cord that held the sail in the track along the entire length of the boom. Now, we have a loose foot that has a metal outhaul slug in the boom track at the clew. It works very well to keep the foot secure. We have some trouble setting the tension of the outhaul every year, balancing the sail shape vs. problems with the lazy jacks.