Hi to you all. New member and keen for some information.

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1

Posted by david982242 (davidknhead@…>)

Am very keen to buy a Freedom 35. Upon looking I see several mast
options, as well as get some confusing information about the advantage
of each.
Ideally would opt for the wishbone boom option as I can more easily
sale this option short handed, as well as de-power the rig as required.
I see CF and alloy masts. Apart from the delamination issue, well
discussed, are there any views on the aluminium unstayed masts and
especially the likely lifespan?
One boat I am keen on has original alloy masts from 1988 that
surficialy seem ok. The anodising is good as well as general surface
finish. Yacht surveyors seem unable to enlighten me on this and I
therefore surmise that their survey reports will be laced with
conditions and get-outs!!

2

Posted by katorpus (jrb@…>)

David

Don’t get hung up on the wishbone boom option as being easier than a
(properly setup) “standard” boom arrangement.

I regularly sail my Freedom 40 Cat Ketch solo…the hard part is
docking and un-docking at the marina.

With lazy jacks and single-line reefing, I can put two reefs in each
sail without leaving the cockpit to do so. The lazy jacks require
a “trip forward” to de-tension/re-tension, but everything else
happens from “within the well”.

I routinely hoist and drop the sails (again from the cockpit) without
the use of the autopilot (currently in an on-going state of
replacement).

Tacking requires little other than turning the wheel and resetting
the sheets for the desired course and sail shape on the new tack.

The boom vangs for both sails are lead to the cockpit as are (of
course) the halyards.

Although I tend not to do so on daysails, I can set the mizzen
staysail singlehandedly with the aid of either the autopilot or a
sail-tie on the helm to hold the boat on-course. This DOESN’T happen
from the cockpit, but if you’re using it, it won’t be in winds heavy
enough to cause concern when going forward (initially, anyway).

The fully battened sails (with big roach)are very easy to control
when hoisting or dropping, and provide greater sail area where it’s
needed most (down low).

I don’t mean to “diss” the wraparounds, but bear in mind that, when
striking sail, you’re dealing with twice as much sail cloth (probably
heavier weight sail cloth) and you have to “drag” all that down the
mast. (Think knee-high gym sock bunched around your ankle). My fully
battened sails drop onto the boom(s) between the lazy jacks by their
own weight and are virtually self-flaking.

Sorry I can’t help you out with the aluminum vs. carbon fiber issue,
but bear in mind that, for a given boat, you’ll have a lot more
weight aloft with the aluminum. The “bendi-ness” of the carbon fiber
masts permits the sails to “self shape” in gusty conditions. I can’t
imagine that the aluminum would be as “bendy”.

Surely there’s a yacht surveyor somewhere within a reasonable
distance from you who is familiar with Freedoms and their
potential “issues”. I’d highly recommend that you bring one in so as
not to “waste” the money you’re spending on a surveyor anyway…

Good Luck…keep us informed

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “david982242”
<davidknhead@…> wrote:

Am very keen to buy a Freedom 35. Upon looking I see several mast
options, as well as get some confusing information about the
advantage
of each.
Ideally would opt for the wishbone boom option as I can more easily
sale this option short handed, as well as de-power the rig as
required.
I see CF and alloy masts. Apart from the delamination issue, well
discussed, are there any views on the aluminium unstayed masts and
especially the likely lifespan?
One boat I am keen on has original alloy masts from 1988 that
surficialy seem ok. The anodising is good as well as general
surface
finish. Yacht surveyors seem unable to enlighten me on this and I
therefore surmise that their survey reports will be laced with
conditions and get-outs!!

3

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

I have to shed a different light on Katorpus’ opinion, just to give
you some alternative ideas.

I used to have an F33 wishbone catketch with aluminum masts and
wraparounds. I now have an F44 catketch with wishbones, carbon masts
and single ply sails on a track.

The aluminum masts are indeed much heavier than carbon, but they are
also much less stiff, so they bend more than carbon masts. That’s
what you don’t want. On durability: nobody really knows. Neither
carbon nor aluminum round freestanding masts have been around for
longer than 30 years. What I feel however, is that aluminum is a much
more understood and proven technology than carbon fibre. For carbon
fibre for instance, it’s not known what the impact of a direct or
indirect lightning strike is. For metals, these things are known
since long. Personally, I would still go for carbon fibre masts. Many
have been built for Freedoms the last 30 years, not many fell over.
Carbon is technology for the future, aluminum from the past, as far
as masts are concerned.

Now the wraparounds. The cloth is two/thirds the weight of single ply
sail. Because it’s double, you end up with a sail 1.5 times heavier
than single ply. The long sock around the ankle concept is no
problem, neither is it a problem to get wet sails down, as some
people think. It’s true they don’t run down as fast as a single ply
sail on a track. I had a downhaul halyard to get both sails down from
the cockpit. The biggest problem with wraparounds is that you cannot
attach anything to your masts. Another fact is that you cannot have
full battens and a nice roach. Personally, I’m glad I don’t have the
wraparounds anymore on my new boat. And getting them cleaned costs
you twice the amount of the effective sail area!

Now the boom. Personally, I like the wishbone concept. Why? If you
look at the vectors and forces around the lower part of a sail and
its boom or wishbone, you see the forward forces on a boom are fed
perpendicularly into the mast. Masts don’t really like that. Hence
the heavy goosenecks. With a wishbone, the forward force is fed
upwards into the mast, in the direction of strength of a mast. The
force just disappears there. Hence the few light lines you need to
control the wishbone front end. The downward direction of the
wishbone aft end makes it unnecessary to have a boomvang. It’s very
easy to control the leech with a wishbone; just tighten the choker
line, which moves the front of the wishbone aft.

All in all, I think a wishbone is a geometrically much better
approach than a boom. Problems with booms and the hugeness of
goosenecks and vangs support my opinion, I think. Anothes advantage
of a wishbone is the fact that you can wing out the sail beyond a 90*
angle because of the lack of the gooseneck. Going downwind with a
catketch, with the main wishbone winged out before the bow and a
large staisail in the mizzen to fill the gap between the masts, you
have a fast and stable boat, unlike any other rig.

Of course, it’s all a matter of personal taste.

Good luck in choosing!

Michel

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “katorpus” <jrb@…> wrote:

David

Don’t get hung up on the wishbone boom option as being easier than
a
(properly setup) “standard” boom arrangement.

I regularly sail my Freedom 40 Cat Ketch solo…the hard part is
docking and un-docking at the marina.

With lazy jacks and single-line reefing, I can put two reefs in
each
sail without leaving the cockpit to do so. The lazy jacks require
a “trip forward” to de-tension/re-tension, but everything else
happens from “within the well”.

I routinely hoist and drop the sails (again from the cockpit)
without
the use of the autopilot (currently in an on-going state of
replacement).

Tacking requires little other than turning the wheel and resetting
the sheets for the desired course and sail shape on the new tack.

The boom vangs for both sails are lead to the cockpit as are (of
course) the halyards.

Although I tend not to do so on daysails, I can set the mizzen
staysail singlehandedly with the aid of either the autopilot or a
sail-tie on the helm to hold the boat on-course. This DOESN’T
happen
from the cockpit, but if you’re using it, it won’t be in winds
heavy
enough to cause concern when going forward (initially, anyway).

The fully battened sails (with big roach)are very easy to control
when hoisting or dropping, and provide greater sail area where it’s
needed most (down low).

I don’t mean to “diss” the wraparounds, but bear in mind that, when
striking sail, you’re dealing with twice as much sail cloth
(probably
heavier weight sail cloth) and you have to “drag” all that down the
mast. (Think knee-high gym sock bunched around your ankle). My
fully
battened sails drop onto the boom(s) between the lazy jacks by
their
own weight and are virtually self-flaking.

Sorry I can’t help you out with the aluminum vs. carbon fiber
issue,
but bear in mind that, for a given boat, you’ll have a lot more
weight aloft with the aluminum. The “bendi-ness” of the carbon
fiber
masts permits the sails to “self shape” in gusty conditions. I
can’t
imagine that the aluminum would be as “bendy”.

Surely there’s a yacht surveyor somewhere within a reasonable
distance from you who is familiar with Freedoms and their
potential “issues”. I’d highly recommend that you bring one in so
as
not to “waste” the money you’re spending on a surveyor anyway…

Good Luck…keep us informed

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “david982242”
<davidknhead@> wrote:

Am very keen to buy a Freedom 35. Upon looking I see several mast
options, as well as get some confusing information about the
advantage
of each.
Ideally would opt for the wishbone boom option as I can more
easily
sale this option short handed, as well as de-power the rig as
required.
I see CF and alloy masts. Apart from the delamination issue, well
discussed, are there any views on the aluminium unstayed masts
and
especially the likely lifespan?
One boat I am keen on has original alloy masts from 1988 that
surficialy seem ok. The anodising is good as well as general
surface
finish. Yacht surveyors seem unable to enlighten me on this and I
therefore surmise that their survey reports will be laced with
conditions and get-outs!!

4

Posted by katorpus (jrb@…>)

I won’t take issue with anything Michel said below, except as follows:

  1. The massive “graft” where my (retrofitted by factory) gooseneck
    attaches to the masts, combined with the near-12" diameter of the
    mast at the point of attachment provides all the strength anyone
    could want against the forward pressure of the boom. I’m not sure
    what “advantage” there is to be had by moving these same forces
    higher up the mast (thus creating more bend).

  2. All other things being equal, I have to think that the boom-
    equipped boat will point higher than a loose-footed wishbone. Gary
    Hoyt would probably argue that the single-ply sail on a track defeats
    the design intent of the wraparound sail by interrupting the smooth
    flow created by having the luff of the sail “begin” at the edge of
    the mast (as opposed to the center) on both sides of the mast. It is
    evident that this occurs, particularly lower down where the mast
    diameter is the greatest. Any single-ply sail on a “fat mast” is
    gonna experience this, but I’ll KEEP my full battens and roach, thank
    you very much.

  3. My goosenecks are hinged well aft of the mast (on a massive
    stainless steel constructions) and I can wing either sail forward of
    90 degrees…enough to sail dead downwind without preventers if
    things aren’t TOO “rolly”. Winging any further forward than I’m
    capable of with my arrangement would just result in spilling more
    wind.

  4. My (large) mizzen staysail is used as a reacher and sheeted from
    the tail end of the mizzen boom. I guess (if you’re sailing “not
    quite dead downwind”) with the staysail and mizzen on the lee and the
    main WAY forward of 90 degrees, you’d gain from this, but just out of
    curiosity, doesn’t this tend to want to bury the bow?..and what does
    the helm feel like when you’re doing this, Michel?

  5. I do dislike boomvangs. Garhauer rigid vangs are in my future
    plans. I once (while not paying near enough attention) got hit by a
    VERY sudden near-180 wind shift when a front/squall arrived when I
    had the mizzen vang tightened. The resulting crash-jibe of the mizzen
    blew the stainless pendant, sending pieces of the “eye” that attaches
    to the shackle whizzing through the cockpit at a frightening
    speed…it was like a bullet whizzing past my head. I’d like to not
    repeat THAT again.


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

I have to shed a different light on Katorpus’ opinion, just to give
you some alternative ideas.

I used to have an F33 wishbone catketch with aluminum masts and
wraparounds. I now have an F44 catketch with wishbones, carbon
masts
and single ply sails on a track.

The aluminum masts are indeed much heavier than carbon, but they
are
also much less stiff, so they bend more than carbon masts. That’s
what you don’t want. On durability: nobody really knows. Neither
carbon nor aluminum round freestanding masts have been around for
longer than 30 years. What I feel however, is that aluminum is a
much
more understood and proven technology than carbon fibre. For carbon
fibre for instance, it’s not known what the impact of a direct or
indirect lightning strike is. For metals, these things are known
since long. Personally, I would still go for carbon fibre masts.
Many
have been built for Freedoms the last 30 years, not many fell over.
Carbon is technology for the future, aluminum from the past, as far
as masts are concerned.

Now the wraparounds. The cloth is two/thirds the weight of single
ply
sail. Because it’s double, you end up with a sail 1.5 times heavier
than single ply. The long sock around the ankle concept is no
problem, neither is it a problem to get wet sails down, as some
people think. It’s true they don’t run down as fast as a single ply
sail on a track. I had a downhaul halyard to get both sails down
from
the cockpit. The biggest problem with wraparounds is that you
cannot
attach anything to your masts. Another fact is that you cannot have
full battens and a nice roach. Personally, I’m glad I don’t have
the
wraparounds anymore on my new boat. And getting them cleaned costs
you twice the amount of the effective sail area!

Now the boom. Personally, I like the wishbone concept. Why? If you
look at the vectors and forces around the lower part of a sail and
its boom or wishbone, you see the forward forces on a boom are fed
perpendicularly into the mast. Masts don’t really like that. Hence
the heavy goosenecks. With a wishbone, the forward force is fed
upwards into the mast, in the direction of strength of a mast. The
force just disappears there. Hence the few light lines you need to
control the wishbone front end. The downward direction of the
wishbone aft end makes it unnecessary to have a boomvang. It’s very
easy to control the leech with a wishbone; just tighten the choker
line, which moves the front of the wishbone aft.

All in all, I think a wishbone is a geometrically much better
approach than a boom. Problems with booms and the hugeness of
goosenecks and vangs support my opinion, I think. Anothes advantage
of a wishbone is the fact that you can wing out the sail beyond a
90*
angle because of the lack of the gooseneck. Going downwind with a
catketch, with the main wishbone winged out before the bow and a
large staisail in the mizzen to fill the gap between the masts, you
have a fast and stable boat, unlike any other rig.

Of course, it’s all a matter of personal taste.

Good luck in choosing!

Michel

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “katorpus” <jrb@> wrote:

David

Don’t get hung up on the wishbone boom option as being easier
than
a
(properly setup) “standard” boom arrangement.

I regularly sail my Freedom 40 Cat Ketch solo…the hard part is
docking and un-docking at the marina.

With lazy jacks and single-line reefing, I can put two reefs in
each
sail without leaving the cockpit to do so. The lazy jacks require
a “trip forward” to de-tension/re-tension, but everything else
happens from “within the well”.

I routinely hoist and drop the sails (again from the cockpit)
without
the use of the autopilot (currently in an on-going state of
replacement).

Tacking requires little other than turning the wheel and
resetting
the sheets for the desired course and sail shape on the new tack.

The boom vangs for both sails are lead to the cockpit as are (of
course) the halyards.

Although I tend not to do so on daysails, I can set the mizzen
staysail singlehandedly with the aid of either the autopilot or a
sail-tie on the helm to hold the boat on-course. This DOESN’T
happen
from the cockpit, but if you’re using it, it won’t be in winds
heavy
enough to cause concern when going forward (initially, anyway).

The fully battened sails (with big roach)are very easy to control
when hoisting or dropping, and provide greater sail area where
it’s
needed most (down low).

I don’t mean to “diss” the wraparounds, but bear in mind that,
when
striking sail, you’re dealing with twice as much sail cloth
(probably
heavier weight sail cloth) and you have to “drag” all that down
the
mast. (Think knee-high gym sock bunched around your ankle). My
fully
battened sails drop onto the boom(s) between the lazy jacks by
their
own weight and are virtually self-flaking.

Sorry I can’t help you out with the aluminum vs. carbon fiber
issue,
but bear in mind that, for a given boat, you’ll have a lot more
weight aloft with the aluminum. The “bendi-ness” of the carbon
fiber
masts permits the sails to “self shape” in gusty conditions. I
can’t
imagine that the aluminum would be as “bendy”.

Surely there’s a yacht surveyor somewhere within a reasonable
distance from you who is familiar with Freedoms and their
potential “issues”. I’d highly recommend that you bring one in so
as
not to “waste” the money you’re spending on a surveyor anyway…

Good Luck…keep us informed

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “david982242”
<davidknhead@> wrote:

Am very keen to buy a Freedom 35. Upon looking I see several
mast
options, as well as get some confusing information about the
advantage
of each.
Ideally would opt for the wishbone boom option as I can more
easily
sale this option short handed, as well as de-power the rig as
required.
I see CF and alloy masts. Apart from the delamination issue,
well
discussed, are there any views on the aluminium unstayed masts
and
especially the likely lifespan?
One boat I am keen on has original alloy masts from 1988 that
surficialy seem ok. The anodising is good as well as general
surface
finish. Yacht surveyors seem unable to enlighten me on this and
I
therefore surmise that their survey reports will be laced with
conditions and get-outs!!

5

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

  1. The massive “graft” where my (retrofitted by factory) gooseneck
    attaches to the masts, combined with the near-12" diameter of the
    mast at the point of attachment provides all the strength anyone
    could want against the forward pressure of the boom. I’m not sure
    what “advantage” there is to be had by moving these same forces
    higher up the mast (thus creating more bend).

The fact that the ‘graft’ has to be massive may confirm my opinion
about the forces on the mast. I have no massive hardware on my masts
whatsoever, just a few deadeyes. Further, the advantage of a
wishbone is not so much moving the pressure point upwards, but in
stead of perpendicular on the mast, the forces are led off
diagonally upwards into the mast. The resulting force on the mast is
therefore much less. I’m not a mechanical engineer (or any other
engineer) so I can’t give you the calculation for this.

  1. All other things being equal, I have to think that the boom-
    equipped boat will point higher than a loose-footed wishbone.

Why would that be the case? Modern rigs with booms all have loose
footed mainsails in stead of sails with the foot fed into the boom.
Neither boom nor wishbone has any effect on pointing ability, I
would think. Sailshape has.


Gary

Hoyt would probably argue that the single-ply sail on a track
defeats
the design intent of the wraparound sail by interrupting the
smooth
flow created by having the luff of the sail “begin” at the edge of
the mast (as opposed to the center) on both sides of the mast. It
is
evident that this occurs, particularly lower down where the mast
diameter is the greatest. Any single-ply sail on a “fat mast” is
gonna experience this, but I’ll KEEP my full battens and roach,
thank
you very much.

You have your roach to compensate for the less effective sail area
behind the fat mast. The sailarea just has to be a bit larger with a
single ply sail.

\

  1. My goosenecks are hinged well aft of the mast (on a massive
    stainless steel constructions) and I can wing either sail forward
    of
    90 degrees…enough to sail dead downwind without preventers if
    things aren’t TOO “rolly”. Winging any further forward than I’m
    capable of with my arrangement would just result in spilling more
    wind.

Okay, that’s a good thing. And apparently, your track and slides can
handle a beyond 90 degree position as well.

  1. My (large) mizzen staysail is used as a reacher and sheeted
    from
    the tail end of the mizzen boom. I guess (if you’re sailing “not
    quite dead downwind”) with the staysail and mizzen on the lee and
    the
    main WAY forward of 90 degrees, you’d gain from this, but just out
    of
    curiosity, doesn’t this tend to want to bury the bow?..and what
    does
    the helm feel like when you’re doing this, Michel?

You really should try this it’s truly amazing. It’s a feature only
catketches have and works best with winds of 150* apparent. I call
it the secret weapon. The bow is not buried on boats like Freedoms
that have been designed to carry a catketch rig. These boats have
more volume in the bow. And the helm… well, it’s sooo balanced
you can let go of the wheel and set course with the mizzen. The
tendency to round up when sailing with winds on the quarter is
totally absent because the winged out mainsail compensates for this.
I think there is no alternative way to carry so much sail on a boat
of this size and get so much speed out of it. You will outrun every
similarly sized boat with a spinaker.

\

  1. I do dislike boomvangs. Garhauer rigid vangs are in my future
    plans. I once (while not paying near enough attention) got hit by
    a
    VERY sudden near-180 wind shift when a front/squall arrived when I
    had the mizzen vang tightened. The resulting crash-jibe of the
    mizzen
    blew the stainless pendant, sending pieces of the “eye” that
    attaches
    to the shackle whizzing through the cockpit at a frightening
    speed…it was like a bullet whizzing past my head. I’d like to
    not
    repeat THAT again.

I’m not going to kick this ball in. :^)

To see what works best, I propose a race between my F44 with single
ply and wishbones, and one of the two F44’s with single ply sails
and booms. We’ll keep you posted of the proceedings.

Best,

Michel




\

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

I have to shed a different light on Katorpus’ opinion, just to
give
you some alternative ideas.

I used to have an F33 wishbone catketch with aluminum masts and
wraparounds. I now have an F44 catketch with wishbones, carbon
masts
and single ply sails on a track.

The aluminum masts are indeed much heavier than carbon, but they
are
also much less stiff, so they bend more than carbon masts.
That’s
what you don’t want. On durability: nobody really knows. Neither
carbon nor aluminum round freestanding masts have been around
for
longer than 30 years. What I feel however, is that aluminum is a
much
more understood and proven technology than carbon fibre. For
carbon
fibre for instance, it’s not known what the impact of a direct
or
indirect lightning strike is. For metals, these things are known
since long. Personally, I would still go for carbon fibre masts.
Many
have been built for Freedoms the last 30 years, not many fell
over.
Carbon is technology for the future, aluminum from the past, as
far
as masts are concerned.

Now the wraparounds. The cloth is two/thirds the weight of
single
ply
sail. Because it’s double, you end up with a sail 1.5 times
heavier
than single ply. The long sock around the ankle concept is no
problem, neither is it a problem to get wet sails down, as some
people think. It’s true they don’t run down as fast as a single
ply
sail on a track. I had a downhaul halyard to get both sails down
from
the cockpit. The biggest problem with wraparounds is that you
cannot
attach anything to your masts. Another fact is that you cannot
have
full battens and a nice roach. Personally, I’m glad I don’t have
the
wraparounds anymore on my new boat. And getting them cleaned
costs
you twice the amount of the effective sail area!

Now the boom. Personally, I like the wishbone concept. Why? If
you
look at the vectors and forces around the lower part of a sail
and
its boom or wishbone, you see the forward forces on a boom are
fed
perpendicularly into the mast. Masts don’t really like that.
Hence
the heavy goosenecks. With a wishbone, the forward force is fed
upwards into the mast, in the direction of strength of a mast.
The
force just disappears there. Hence the few light lines you need
to
control the wishbone front end. The downward direction of the
wishbone aft end makes it unnecessary to have a boomvang. It’s
very
easy to control the leech with a wishbone; just tighten the
choker
line, which moves the front of the wishbone aft.

All in all, I think a wishbone is a geometrically much better
approach than a boom. Problems with booms and the hugeness of
goosenecks and vangs support my opinion, I think. Anothes
advantage
of a wishbone is the fact that you can wing out the sail beyond
a
90*
angle because of the lack of the gooseneck. Going downwind with
a
catketch, with the main wishbone winged out before the bow and a
large staisail in the mizzen to fill the gap between the masts,
you
have a fast and stable boat, unlike any other rig.

Of course, it’s all a matter of personal taste.

Good luck in choosing!

Michel

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “katorpus” <jrb@>
wrote:

David

Don’t get hung up on the wishbone boom option as being easier
than
a
(properly setup) “standard” boom arrangement.

I regularly sail my Freedom 40 Cat Ketch solo…the hard part
is
docking and un-docking at the marina.

With lazy jacks and single-line reefing, I can put two reefs
in
each
sail without leaving the cockpit to do so. The lazy jacks
require
a “trip forward” to de-tension/re-tension, but everything else
happens from “within the well”.

I routinely hoist and drop the sails (again from the cockpit)
without
the use of the autopilot (currently in an on-going state of
replacement).

Tacking requires little other than turning the wheel and
resetting
the sheets for the desired course and sail shape on the new
tack.

The boom vangs for both sails are lead to the cockpit as are
(of
course) the halyards.

Although I tend not to do so on daysails, I can set the mizzen
staysail singlehandedly with the aid of either the autopilot
or a
sail-tie on the helm to hold the boat on-course. This DOESN’T
happen
from the cockpit, but if you’re using it, it won’t be in winds
heavy
enough to cause concern when going forward (initially,
anyway).

The fully battened sails (with big roach)are very easy to
control
when hoisting or dropping, and provide greater sail area where
it’s
needed most (down low).

I don’t mean to “diss” the wraparounds, but bear in mind that,
when
striking sail, you’re dealing with twice as much sail cloth
(probably
heavier weight sail cloth) and you have to “drag” all that
down
the
mast. (Think knee-high gym sock bunched around your ankle). My
fully
battened sails drop onto the boom(s) between the lazy jacks by
their
own weight and are virtually self-flaking.

Sorry I can’t help you out with the aluminum vs. carbon fiber
issue,
but bear in mind that, for a given boat, you’ll have a lot
more
weight aloft with the aluminum. The “bendi-ness” of the carbon
fiber
masts permits the sails to “self shape” in gusty conditions. I
can’t
imagine that the aluminum would be as “bendy”.

Surely there’s a yacht surveyor somewhere within a reasonable
distance from you who is familiar with Freedoms and their
potential “issues”. I’d highly recommend that you bring one in
so
as
not to “waste” the money you’re spending on a surveyor
anyway…

Good Luck…keep us informed

— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “david982242”
<davidknhead@> wrote:

Am very keen to buy a Freedom 35. Upon looking I see several
mast
options, as well as get some confusing information about the
advantage
of each.
Ideally would opt for the wishbone boom option as I can more
easily
sale this option short handed, as well as de-power the rig
as
required.
I see CF and alloy masts. Apart from the delamination issue,
well
discussed, are there any views on the aluminium unstayed
masts
and
especially the likely lifespan?
One boat I am keen on has original alloy masts from 1988
that
surficialy seem ok. The anodising is good as well as general
surface
finish. Yacht surveyors seem unable to enlighten me on this
and
I
therefore surmise that their survey reports will be laced
with
conditions and get-outs!!