Hi everyone,
Another question from fairly new Freedom 40 Cc “High Heels” owners, hull #18. 
This time we ask about the masts.
We have two aluminum masts. During one of our passages (the first kinda long passage ever actually haha), the mizzen mast started moving noticeably more than usual. It worried us enough that we dropped sail and finished the trip under engine.
We did not have much time for a proper maintenance because we had a weather window to go from the US to the Dominican Republic. As a temporary solution, we bought oak, shaped new wooden wedges to match the old ones we found inside the mast step, and replaced several that were rotten and deteriorated.
Since then, the mast has not shown that same obvious movement again, although there is still some slight movement, which may or may not be normal for this design, I’m not sure . What we do notice now is that in certain wind angles and conditions, the mast makes scraping / creaking noises which you hear the best inside the cabin.
In the photos you can also see another temporary fix we did: we inserted plastic cards at the base of the mast step, and that almost reduced the noise.
We are currently in Luperón and expect to be here for a few months, so this is a good time for us to finally deal with projects like this properly and collect some new knowledge about our boat. Right now, for example, our wishbone is often swung off to one side so the sun hits the solar panels on the hardtop better. When the wind blows, it probably creates some load, and we sometimes hear mast noises again from inside the cabin. So clearly there is still some movement happening somewhere.
We would really like to hear from other Freedom owners with some more experience than we have. What amount of mast movement is normal? What kinds of sounds are normal, and what sounds are a warning sign?
Also I’m attaching photos of both masts, forward and aft, the mast boots and the places where it goes through the deck. To us, it all looks like it could use some maintenance, but we would really value more experienced opinions.
Do you see any serious problems in these photos? What would you repair, replace, or modify? Anything specific we should pay close attention to?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hi, I’ll take a stab at this. My F40 had carbon masts and I think my mast steps were very different from your pictures. The bottom line is that there should be no movement at the mast step, and if there is, you need to figure out why. With the aluminum masts, perhaps there is some corrosion at the bottom of the step? My F45 had movement at the bottom that was determined to be caused by a mast bottom that was not perfectly square with the step. PO ended up having it planed to the proper alignment. In your case, looking at the picture of the mast step ring, it looks like it is pretty corroded. as you can tell by your cards it doesn’t take much to make it move, but any movement is going to grind the bottom of the mast.
It’s good that you replaced the rotten mast wedges, but you may want to consider if it makes sense to pour spartite around your masts to create a new, solid, watertight wedge. In the meantime, if you have the time I would pull the masts to ensure there isn’t more damage to base or to the mast step sockets - you should not have to wedge them like that, and pulling your wishbone to the side should absolutely not cause the mast(s) to move.
Looking at the pictures, it appears that you have water intrusion along some of the bolts holding the deck collars in place. I would pull, replace, and re-bed, and while the collars are up check the deck for moisture and repair if necessary.
Do you know what the corrosion on the main mast is?
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, we do not really have the ability to lift the masts right now. Maybe later we could do it somewhere. Yes, I also thought we need to deal with the deck and those bolts, and we will do that.
And we do not know what kind of corrosion that is on the main. Maybe it would be possible to treat it somehow, at least a little.. I am not sure if that is possible.
scuff it off with either a scotch pad and some orange cleaner if you have it - close examinations looks like something was taped to the mast and that’s the leftover adhesive.
it’s your boat, but if it were mine I’d want to make sure those masts were secure before I undertook a longer journey. it’s not unheard of for them to jump out of the mast steps in rough seas.
You’re right. We’ll think about how to handle it. I’ll post an update in this thread when I start digging into it more deeply..
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If you have no access to cranes, if you can persuade two other boats with taller masts to tie up alongside you, and play, you could get their halyards to haul your masts clear of the deck. Then gently lower them, with you now laying them on rests on your deck that you have prepared. Their halyards need to be lifting your mast from a point you judge to be just above the COG of your mast. So it hangs down, but so you can move the base easily.
