Freedom 33

Posted by dholt55 (davidholt@…>)

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom 33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by Alan Kusinitz (akusinitz@…>)


Congratulations! I have Hull #51 1982. Happy to discuss with you. I just
replaced my full batten sails with new larger full batten sails.I too think the
rig is a great cruising rig.
Alan





From:
freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com [mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dholt55
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 7:13
AM
To:
freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [freedomyachts2003]
Freedom 33




I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored
Freedom 33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

\

Posted by Dave_Benjamin (dave_benjamin@…>)

Since you’re in Australia perhaps Greg or Sam Newton can be of some
assistance with sails. Here’s their website.
http://www.sailsolutions.com.au/

Alan has a gorgeous set of sails on his F-33 that were made up in the
NE section of the US.


In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@…> wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom 33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by dholt55 (davidholt@…>)

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “Alan Kusinitz”
<akusinitz@…> wrote:

Alan

Thanks for the contact re your Freedom 33. See photos of my Freedom
33 in Gallery under Freedom 33 in Australia. These actually don’t do
it justice.

Is your 33 a long or short keel? Would you be able to send me your
sail plan for comparison? I certainly don’t want to purchase new
sails without knowing what others have done.

Where are you located in Australia?

Regards

David



\

Congratulations! I have Hull #51 1982. Happy to discuss with you.
I just
replaced my full batten sails with new larger full batten sails.I
too think
the rig is a great cruising rig.

Alan


From: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dholt55
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 7:13 AM
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Freedom 33

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by Alan Kusinitz (akusinitz@…>)



The pictures are great and the boat looks
great. Actually I’m located in the US
in New England.
Looking at your photo its clear you have
the original wishbone rig. Mine was converted to the sail track and non
wishbone rig by the original owner. So my sail plan is quite different then
yours.
Alan




From:
freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com [mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dholt55
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 3:27
AM
To:
freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Re:
Freedom 33




— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com,
“Alan Kusinitz”
<akusinitz@…> wrote:

Alan

Thanks for the contact re your Freedom 33. See photos of my Freedom
33 in Gallery under Freedom 33 in Australia. These actually don’t do
it justice.

Is your 33 a long or short keel? Would you be able to send me your
sail plan for comparison? I certainly don’t want to purchase new
sails without knowing what others have done.

Where are you located in Australia?

Regards

David

Congratulations! I have Hull
#51 1982. Happy to discuss with you.
I just
replaced my full batten sails with new larger full batten sails.I
too think
the rig is a great cruising rig.

Alan


From: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of dholt55
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 7:13 AM
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Freedom 33

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia


\

Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you found this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to have a closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g. attachement to the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the process of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to yours, so I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of the front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel


— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@…>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom 33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85 nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by dholt55 (davidholt@…>)

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:

Michel,

I will post some more photos Night Wing showing more of the fit out
and the rig.

Great to find others are rerigging using the wishbone rig. I am
wanting to keep the original concept as I believe it works very
well. I am not after racing performance here. My Freedom is for
living on and just cruising. Would you believe I am a trimaran freak
and have an original Tremolino by Dick Newick and John Olin from the
US. If I want speed,this is where I go. All I want from my Freedom
is reasonable efficiency. And I don’t mind cranking up the diesel
and doing a bit of motor sailing occassionaly.

The masts I have are aluminium and I have no idea how they compare
with the carbon fibre ones. I have no intention of changing as they
have been beautifully restored and in magnificant condition. The
wishnbone set up is so simple with a single uphaul coming from the
centre of the leading edge of the wishbone back to a ‘D’ ring on the
mast. There is also one fitted below and I don’t know how this would
work. In my recent shake down sail in strong following winds we
gybed a few times and the foreword wishbone just hit the mast on the
side twice. This worried me and I think the wishbone should be
lifted from two 'D’s on either side of the forward curve to keep it
off the mast. I’ll take some detailed photos and hopefully get some
more feedback from others.

The reefing system has been well thought out and consists of hooks
on wire strops at the tack and clew set to the sail. Simply lower
and look up and retension.

I’ll check the height of my masts to see if they are similar to ones
in the US.

A little trivia. The previous owner who spent a fortune on the refit
actually had Night Wing shipped to the US and then shipped it back
again to Australia.

Looking for to hearing further from you.

Regards
David

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you found
this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to have a
closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g. attachement to the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the process of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to yours, so
I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging
catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of the
front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85
nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)

Hi David,

Welcome to the Freedom group, I forgot that earlier on. You’re the
first contributor from down under, as far as I know, and I’m around
here for almost 10 years. I’m from the Netherlands (Europe) myself.
We have a small group of Freedoms here, 3 F44s, about 5 or 6 F33s an
F37 sloop and perhaps a few F35 sloops. I’m mainly into the catketch
and don’t know much about the sloops.

You will be amazed with the performance and ease of handling of your
F33; they are truly remarkable! I had one for 8 years and now traded
up to an F44 catketch.

I had aluminum masts on my F33 too. They are heavier than the CF
masts ans less stiff, but much easier to work with. You can put
rivets and bolts in it without too much risk. The fact that they are
less stiff makes them bend earlier in a blow, so you don’t have too
reef early. Think of a Laser or Finn.

About the wishbone setup: I collected a lot of photo’s of wishone
rigging on other types of boats, like the Wyliecats, Nonsuch and
Tantons. The Wyliecat is probably the most modern implementation of
the wishbone rig.

From what I make out of your description of your shakedown cruise,
what your rig is probably lacking, is two suspender ropes
that keep the wishbone fronts level at all times, regardless of the
outhaul. If you loosen the outhaul, the wishbone probably sags dwn a
bit, which is contrary to what you want if you loosen the outhaul.
The height of the wishbone front end is your kicking strap; it
manages the tightness of your leech. If you want, I can email you
the photo’s I collected so you can see how other brands rig their
wishbones.

Cheers mate!

Michel


— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@…>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

Michel,

I will post some more photos Night Wing showing more of the fit
out
and the rig.

Great to find others are rerigging using the wishbone rig. I am
wanting to keep the original concept as I believe it works very
well. I am not after racing performance here. My Freedom is for
living on and just cruising. Would you believe I am a trimaran
freak
and have an original Tremolino by Dick Newick and John Olin from
the
US. If I want speed,this is where I go. All I want from my Freedom
is reasonable efficiency. And I don’t mind cranking up the diesel
and doing a bit of motor sailing occassionaly.

The masts I have are aluminium and I have no idea how they compare
with the carbon fibre ones. I have no intention of changing as
they
have been beautifully restored and in magnificant condition. The
wishnbone set up is so simple with a single uphaul coming from the
centre of the leading edge of the wishbone back to a ‘D’ ring on
the
mast. There is also one fitted below and I don’t know how this
would
work. In my recent shake down sail in strong following winds we
gybed a few times and the foreword wishbone just hit the mast on
the
side twice. This worried me and I think the wishbone should be
lifted from two 'D’s on either side of the forward curve to keep
it
off the mast. I’ll take some detailed photos and hopefully get
some
more feedback from others.

The reefing system has been well thought out and consists of hooks
on wire strops at the tack and clew set to the sail. Simply lower
and look up and retension.

I’ll check the height of my masts to see if they are similar to
ones
in the US.

A little trivia. The previous owner who spent a fortune on the
refit
actually had Night Wing shipped to the US and then shipped it back
again to Australia.

Looking for to hearing further from you.

Regards
David

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you found
this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to have a
closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g. attachement to
the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the process of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to yours, so
I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging
catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of the
front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s
to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails
with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85
nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the
simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by dholt55 (davidholt@…>)

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:

G’Day Michel

Thanks for the welcome to the Freedom site. It is a great relief to
be able to chat with those who have been handling the original
Freedoms so I can get the best out of my beautiful yacht.

Was your F33 a long keel or a short one with a centreboard? I would
like to get an idea as to the difference in performance if I can.

Photos of the alternatives re the rigging of the wishbone set up
would be a great help as a picture tells a thousand words. It is now
quite obvious to me that the way mine has been set up is not
correct. Let the uphaul go and the wishbone could hit the deck! I
guess that is why the lower D bracket is there but has not been
used. I persume this would have a purchase outhaul to control
tension and the upper one just holding the wishbone. I’ll wait for
your photos.

Thanks for the comments re the aluminium masts as I felt they may
have been inferior to the carbon fibre ones.

By the way there is another Freedom 33 not far from me in Brisbane
and it was also for sale when I purchased mine. His rig was carbon
fibre with the very original wrap round sail set up so no real help
to me re set up. Is this wrap round system still used as I think it
makes for much less wind resistance?

Regards

David



\

Hi David,

Welcome to the Freedom group, I forgot that earlier on. You’re the
first contributor from down under, as far as I know, and I’m around
here for almost 10 years. I’m from the Netherlands (Europe) myself.
We have a small group of Freedoms here, 3 F44s, about 5 or 6 F33s
an
F37 sloop and perhaps a few F35 sloops. I’m mainly into the
catketch
and don’t know much about the sloops.

You will be amazed with the performance and ease of handling of
your
F33; they are truly remarkable! I had one for 8 years and now
traded
up to an F44 catketch.

I had aluminum masts on my F33 too. They are heavier than the CF
masts ans less stiff, but much easier to work with. You can put
rivets and bolts in it without too much risk. The fact that they
are
less stiff makes them bend earlier in a blow, so you don’t have too
reef early. Think of a Laser or Finn.

About the wishbone setup: I collected a lot of photo’s of wishone
rigging on other types of boats, like the Wyliecats, Nonsuch and
Tantons. The Wyliecat is probably the most modern implementation
of
the wishbone rig.

From what I make out of your description of your shakedown cruise,
what your rig is probably lacking, is two suspender ropes
that keep the wishbone fronts level at all times, regardless of the
outhaul. If you loosen the outhaul, the wishbone probably sags dwn
a
bit, which is contrary to what you want if you loosen the outhaul.
The height of the wishbone front end is your kicking strap; it
manages the tightness of your leech. If you want, I can email you
the photo’s I collected so you can see how other brands rig their
wishbones.

Cheers mate!

Michel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

Michel,

I will post some more photos Night Wing showing more of the fit
out
and the rig.

Great to find others are rerigging using the wishbone rig. I am
wanting to keep the original concept as I believe it works very
well. I am not after racing performance here. My Freedom is for
living on and just cruising. Would you believe I am a trimaran
freak
and have an original Tremolino by Dick Newick and John Olin from
the
US. If I want speed,this is where I go. All I want from my
Freedom
is reasonable efficiency. And I don’t mind cranking up the
diesel
and doing a bit of motor sailing occassionaly.

The masts I have are aluminium and I have no idea how they
compare
with the carbon fibre ones. I have no intention of changing as
they
have been beautifully restored and in magnificant condition. The
wishnbone set up is so simple with a single uphaul coming from
the
centre of the leading edge of the wishbone back to a ‘D’ ring on
the
mast. There is also one fitted below and I don’t know how this
would
work. In my recent shake down sail in strong following winds we
gybed a few times and the foreword wishbone just hit the mast on
the
side twice. This worried me and I think the wishbone should be
lifted from two 'D’s on either side of the forward curve to keep
it
off the mast. I’ll take some detailed photos and hopefully get
some
more feedback from others.

The reefing system has been well thought out and consists of
hooks
on wire strops at the tack and clew set to the sail. Simply
lower
and look up and retension.

I’ll check the height of my masts to see if they are similar to
ones
in the US.

A little trivia. The previous owner who spent a fortune on the
refit
actually had Night Wing shipped to the US and then shipped it
back
again to Australia.

Looking for to hearing further from you.

Regards
David

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you
found
this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to have a
closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g. attachement to
the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the process
of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to yours,
so
I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging
catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of the
front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55”
<davidholt@>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored
Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom 33’s
to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current sails
with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85
nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the
simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to
the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)

Hi David,

If you give me a non-yahoo emailaddress, I will mail the photos
directly to you.

I had an F33 with a centreboard and a pair of aluminum legs to stay
upright on thesand when drying out. Super for the kids and parents
too. Our tidal rage here is about 7’.

As far as I know, the centreboard version points a little higher
than the long keel version. There is also a rare fin keel version
which I suppose is comparable to the centreboard.

The wrap around sails are still common, although everybody I know
converts to single ply when they need new sails. The idea of the
wraparound was okay, especially the sleeve around the mast to fill
the turbulent void behind the luff. The two ply idea was less
popular; these sails weigh 1.5 times the single ply version.

Converters usually go to a single ply sail on a track or with a
sleeve around the mast or with a loose luffed sail tensioned along a
wire behind the masts and with loops around the mast.

Sometimes the wishbones are abandoned in favour of conventional
booms; but there are also guys wanting to convert back from booms to
wishbones. I definitely want to keep my wishbones, the rig is less
expensive and I believe the forces on mast and boom are distributed
better with wishbones. The forward going force in the boom is
directed upward into the mast in stead of perpendicular onto the
mast with a conventional boom. And of course you don’t need kicking
straps that produce a tremendous bending force on the booms.

Regards,
Michel




— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@…>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

G’Day Michel

Thanks for the welcome to the Freedom site. It is a great relief
to
be able to chat with those who have been handling the original
Freedoms so I can get the best out of my beautiful yacht.

Was your F33 a long keel or a short one with a centreboard? I
would
like to get an idea as to the difference in performance if I can.

Photos of the alternatives re the rigging of the wishbone set up
would be a great help as a picture tells a thousand words. It is
now
quite obvious to me that the way mine has been set up is not
correct. Let the uphaul go and the wishbone could hit the deck! I
guess that is why the lower D bracket is there but has not been
used. I persume this would have a purchase outhaul to control
tension and the upper one just holding the wishbone. I’ll wait for
your photos.

Thanks for the comments re the aluminium masts as I felt they may
have been inferior to the carbon fibre ones.

By the way there is another Freedom 33 not far from me in Brisbane
and it was also for sale when I purchased mine. His rig was carbon
fibre with the very original wrap round sail set up so no real
help
to me re set up. Is this wrap round system still used as I think
it
makes for much less wind resistance?

Regards

David

Hi David,

Welcome to the Freedom group, I forgot that earlier on. You’re
the
first contributor from down under, as far as I know, and I’m
around
here for almost 10 years. I’m from the Netherlands (Europe)
myself.
We have a small group of Freedoms here, 3 F44s, about 5 or 6
F33s
an
F37 sloop and perhaps a few F35 sloops. I’m mainly into the
catketch
and don’t know much about the sloops.

You will be amazed with the performance and ease of handling of
your
F33; they are truly remarkable! I had one for 8 years and now
traded
up to an F44 catketch.

I had aluminum masts on my F33 too. They are heavier than the CF
masts ans less stiff, but much easier to work with. You can put
rivets and bolts in it without too much risk. The fact that they
are
less stiff makes them bend earlier in a blow, so you don’t have
too
reef early. Think of a Laser or Finn.

About the wishbone setup: I collected a lot of photo’s of wishone
rigging on other types of boats, like the Wyliecats, Nonsuch and
Tantons. The Wyliecat is probably the most modern implementation
of
the wishbone rig.

From what I make out of your description of your shakedown
cruise,
what your rig is probably lacking, is two suspender ropes
that keep the wishbone fronts level at all times, regardless of
the
outhaul. If you loosen the outhaul, the wishbone probably sags
dwn
a
bit, which is contrary to what you want if you loosen the
outhaul.
The height of the wishbone front end is your kicking strap; it
manages the tightness of your leech. If you want, I can email you
the photo’s I collected so you can see how other brands rig their
wishbones.

Cheers mate!

Michel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

Michel,

I will post some more photos Night Wing showing more of the
fit
out
and the rig.

Great to find others are rerigging using the wishbone rig. I
am
wanting to keep the original concept as I believe it works
very
well. I am not after racing performance here. My Freedom is
for
living on and just cruising. Would you believe I am a trimaran
freak
and have an original Tremolino by Dick Newick and John Olin
from
the
US. If I want speed,this is where I go. All I want from my
Freedom
is reasonable efficiency. And I don’t mind cranking up the
diesel
and doing a bit of motor sailing occassionaly.

The masts I have are aluminium and I have no idea how they
compare
with the carbon fibre ones. I have no intention of changing as
they
have been beautifully restored and in magnificant condition.
The
wishnbone set up is so simple with a single uphaul coming from
the
centre of the leading edge of the wishbone back to a ‘D’ ring
on
the
mast. There is also one fitted below and I don’t know how this
would
work. In my recent shake down sail in strong following winds
we
gybed a few times and the foreword wishbone just hit the mast
on
the
side twice. This worried me and I think the wishbone should be
lifted from two 'D’s on either side of the forward curve to
keep
it
off the mast. I’ll take some detailed photos and hopefully get
some
more feedback from others.

The reefing system has been well thought out and consists of
hooks
on wire strops at the tack and clew set to the sail. Simply
lower
and look up and retension.

I’ll check the height of my masts to see if they are similar
to
ones
in the US.

A little trivia. The previous owner who spent a fortune on the
refit
actually had Night Wing shipped to the US and then shipped it
back
again to Australia.

Looking for to hearing further from you.

Regards
David

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you
found
this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to have
a
closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g. attachement
to
the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the process
of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to
yours,
so
I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging
catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of
the
front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55”
<davidholt@>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored
Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom
33’s
to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current
sails
with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over 85
nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a
large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the
simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos to
the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by dholt55 (davidholt@…>)

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@…> wrote:

Hi Michel

Thanks for the information. Looking forward to receiving your
photos. My email address is davidholt@…

Regards
David

Hi David,

If you give me a non-yahoo emailaddress, I will mail the photos
directly to you.

I had an F33 with a centreboard and a pair of aluminum legs to
stay
upright on thesand when drying out. Super for the kids and parents
too. Our tidal rage here is about 7’.

As far as I know, the centreboard version points a little higher
than the long keel version. There is also a rare fin keel version
which I suppose is comparable to the centreboard.

The wrap around sails are still common, although everybody I know
converts to single ply when they need new sails. The idea of the
wraparound was okay, especially the sleeve around the mast to fill
the turbulent void behind the luff. The two ply idea was less
popular; these sails weigh 1.5 times the single ply version.

Converters usually go to a single ply sail on a track or with a
sleeve around the mast or with a loose luffed sail tensioned along
a
wire behind the masts and with loops around the mast.

Sometimes the wishbones are abandoned in favour of conventional
booms; but there are also guys wanting to convert back from booms
to
wishbones. I definitely want to keep my wishbones, the rig is less
expensive and I believe the forces on mast and boom are
distributed
better with wishbones. The forward going force in the boom is
directed upward into the mast in stead of perpendicular onto the
mast with a conventional boom. And of course you don’t need
kicking
straps that produce a tremendous bending force on the booms.

Regards,
Michel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55” <davidholt@>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

G’Day Michel

Thanks for the welcome to the Freedom site. It is a great relief
to
be able to chat with those who have been handling the original
Freedoms so I can get the best out of my beautiful yacht.

Was your F33 a long keel or a short one with a centreboard? I
would
like to get an idea as to the difference in performance if I can.

Photos of the alternatives re the rigging of the wishbone set up
would be a great help as a picture tells a thousand words. It is
now
quite obvious to me that the way mine has been set up is not
correct. Let the uphaul go and the wishbone could hit the deck!
I
guess that is why the lower D bracket is there but has not been
used. I persume this would have a purchase outhaul to control
tension and the upper one just holding the wishbone. I’ll wait
for
your photos.

Thanks for the comments re the aluminium masts as I felt they
may
have been inferior to the carbon fibre ones.

By the way there is another Freedom 33 not far from me in
Brisbane
and it was also for sale when I purchased mine. His rig was
carbon
fibre with the very original wrap round sail set up so no real
help
to me re set up. Is this wrap round system still used as I think
it
makes for much less wind resistance?

Regards

David

Hi David,

Welcome to the Freedom group, I forgot that earlier on. You’re
the
first contributor from down under, as far as I know, and I’m
around
here for almost 10 years. I’m from the Netherlands (Europe)
myself.
We have a small group of Freedoms here, 3 F44s, about 5 or 6
F33s
an
F37 sloop and perhaps a few F35 sloops. I’m mainly into the
catketch
and don’t know much about the sloops.

You will be amazed with the performance and ease of handling
of
your
F33; they are truly remarkable! I had one for 8 years and now
traded
up to an F44 catketch.

I had aluminum masts on my F33 too. They are heavier than the
CF
masts ans less stiff, but much easier to work with. You can put
rivets and bolts in it without too much risk. The fact that
they
are
less stiff makes them bend earlier in a blow, so you don’t
have
too
reef early. Think of a Laser or Finn.

About the wishbone setup: I collected a lot of photo’s of
wishone
rigging on other types of boats, like the Wyliecats, Nonsuch
and
Tantons. The Wyliecat is probably the most modern
implementation
of
the wishbone rig.

From what I make out of your description of your shakedown
cruise,
what your rig is probably lacking, is two suspender ropes
that keep the wishbone fronts level at all times, regardless
of
the
outhaul. If you loosen the outhaul, the wishbone probably sags
dwn
a
bit, which is contrary to what you want if you loosen the
outhaul.
The height of the wishbone front end is your kicking strap; it
manages the tightness of your leech. If you want, I can email
you
the photo’s I collected so you can see how other brands rig
their
wishbones.

Cheers mate!

Michel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55”
<davidholt@>
wrote:

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “michel.capel”
<michel.capel@> wrote:

Michel,

I will post some more photos Night Wing showing more of the
fit
out
and the rig.

Great to find others are rerigging using the wishbone rig. I
am
wanting to keep the original concept as I believe it works
very
well. I am not after racing performance here. My Freedom is
for
living on and just cruising. Would you believe I am a
trimaran
freak
and have an original Tremolino by Dick Newick and John Olin
from
the
US. If I want speed,this is where I go. All I want from my
Freedom
is reasonable efficiency. And I don’t mind cranking up the
diesel
and doing a bit of motor sailing occassionaly.

The masts I have are aluminium and I have no idea how they
compare
with the carbon fibre ones. I have no intention of changing
as
they
have been beautifully restored and in magnificant condition.
The
wishnbone set up is so simple with a single uphaul coming
from
the
centre of the leading edge of the wishbone back to a ‘D’
ring
on
the
mast. There is also one fitted below and I don’t know how
this
would
work. In my recent shake down sail in strong following winds
we
gybed a few times and the foreword wishbone just hit the
mast
on
the
side twice. This worried me and I think the wishbone should
be
lifted from two 'D’s on either side of the forward curve to
keep
it
off the mast. I’ll take some detailed photos and hopefully
get
some
more feedback from others.

The reefing system has been well thought out and consists of
hooks
on wire strops at the tack and clew set to the sail. Simply
lower
and look up and retension.

I’ll check the height of my masts to see if they are similar
to
ones
in the US.

A little trivia. The previous owner who spent a fortune on
the
refit
actually had Night Wing shipped to the US and then shipped
it
back
again to Australia.

Looking for to hearing further from you.

Regards
David

David,

I looked at your pics and am impressed with the state you
found
this
boat in! You are really lucky. I am very interested to
have
a
closer
look at the way your wishbones are rigged (e.g.
attachement
to
the
mast) and how the reefing lines are done. I’m in the
process
of
rerigging my wishbone catketch in a fashion similar to
yours,
so
I’m
really curious! Several others here are also rerigging
catketches.
Would it be possible for you to make some detailed pics of
the
front
end of the wishbone and mast and of the reefing line
setup?

Many thanks!

Michel Capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “dholt55”
<davidholt@>
wrote:

I have just purchased perhaps one of the best restored
Freedom
33’s
ever. I am looking to contact owners of similar Freedom
33’s
to
discuss sail options as I plan to replace the current
sails
with
fully
battened ones. I have just done a shake down sail over
85
nautical
miles in 15 top 20 kots and achieved 10.5 knots down a
large
roller.
Not bad for a crusing keel boat. Very impressed with the
simple
rig
and ease of sailing. I’ll endeavour to add some photos
to
the
Photo
file to show this beautiful craft.

Looking forward to cantacts

David Holt
Queensland Australia

Posted by dsc336 (dsc336@…>)

We just purchased a replacement Freedom 33 Cat/Ketch to replace our old
one that was lost in a fire. If there are any Freedom owners near
Charleston SC we would love to be in touch. Thanks, Donna