New to me Freedom 28

General Discussion
1

Greetings

I’m the next proud custodian of a well cared for Freedom 28. I’m a new sailor, actually never been on a sailboat before, but I’ve always wanted to learn. Last fall I became the new owner of this boat, just as it was being hauled out, and after a long winter of storage, it’s becoming time to get her ready to splash back in the waters of Narragansett Bay.

I chose this boat because it showed well. Interiors sell boats, right? Well I needed buy-in from my spouse, and the new dodger, wood finished cabin in good condition, and recent cushions sold her. We’ve been lifelong tent and RV campers. I told her owning a sailboat would be like camping, but ON THE WATER. I was interested in the freestanding mast, recent sails, self tacking jib, and all the lines leading to the cockpit. I’m likely to be single handing much of the time, and Freedom was really doing some innovative things nearly 30 years ago. I was less interested in performance. I’m a brand new sailor and not looking to race, or even venture beyond the bay for a while.

The instruments are original, and only sort of work. I have a basic chart plotter I’ll be installing. I plugged it into shore power at the boatyard and when I switched on the battery charger, it immediately tripped the gfi on the power pole. I have a background in electrical work and I’m confident I can sort this out, but it explains why the prior owner told me he never used shore power.

I’m a learn by doing, DIY type. The prior owner helped me take the sails down. I winterized the engine and water systems, and everything seemed to survive the off season. I’ve replaced all the sanitary hoses, which helped with the “old boat smell” a lot. This spring I painted the bottom, serviced the engine, today I rigged the sails.

The wealth of knowledge here has been invaluable. I was given the original manuals with the boat. Unfortunately, the pages with the rigging diagrams were missing. I got the main on without issue. The prior owner never used the reefing lines. They are just tied off to the mast. His thoughts were “if it’s too windy to sail with a full main, I’ll just motor, or stay at the dock”. I’ll be dealing with those once it’s in the water. I was reluctant to raise the sail completely while the boat is on stands. I was challenged to the point of four letter words by the jib and the camber spar. I finally managed to get the grommets on the horns and wrestle the roller on the forestay.

My question for the group, and apologies if my terminology is not perfect, I’m new; is what should the camber spar be attached to at the mast? I have a spare halyard as well as a line that appears to be shackled off at the top of the mast. At present I tied a bowline in this static line to the yoke at the end of the camber spar, and the other hole in this yoke is shackled to the block, sheave, roller :person_shrugging: on the control lines leading back to the cockpit. Is this correct, or should it be connected to the halyard? As far as I remember, this is the way it was set up last fall, but no guarantees it was correct then.

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3 Likes
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Congratulations on your new boat.

This article on the camberspar might help.

https://freedomyachts.org/t/camber-spar-information/6343?u=pearce

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Welcome to the F28 club!

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Welcome to the Freedom family!

The static line you mention is probably a topping lift, which attaches to the end of the camberspar to keep it (and the sail) up off the deck when the sail is furled.
I never used it. When I wanted to lift the sail off the deck I attached the jib halyard to the inboard end of the camberspar–it is adjustable to your preferred height. But the real reason not to use the topping lift is so that when you turn into the wind and drop the jib it will come all, or nearly all, the way down on the deck by itself. Easier to control the sail that way, you can delay going forward until you are comfortable doing so. I just left the topping lift tied off to the bow pulpit. Hope that helps, and good luck. See you at Block!

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Thanks! :+1: Very helpful

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I have owned a 1995 F 40/40 for 17 years on Lake Ontario, but the setup seems the same.

The camberspar works great for sailing. The self tacking jib is great. But getting the camberspar attached in the spring is quite a challenge. I have read of people thinking the sail or camberspar were made incorrectly and cutting the camberspar shorter. I do not think that is the correct action. I think anyone who has had a Freedom equipped with a camberspar has struggled the same way you have.

Here is what I have learned to do, and will have to deal with next month. I put the camberspar through the jib pocket, attach it to the forestay with the bracket and bolt. I take a small but strong 1/8’ or 1/4’ rope, tie it to one of the grommets at the clew end where the camberspar spike fits, run the rope around the mast and tie it to the grommet on the other side of the jib, then slowly raise the sail. The rope will draw the grommets toward the mast until the grommets are even with the camberspar spike. The spikes can then be relatively easily inserted into the grommets. Once the spikes are properly inserted into the grommets, untie or cut the rope, and you are all set.

Conversely, you can first attach the clew end of the camberspar to the jib, tie the ropes to the camberspar grommets on the luff side of the jib, run the line from grommets on one side of the jib, around the bow rail and back to the grommet on the other side of the jib, slowly raise the sail until the grommets line up with the bolt holes. The problem with that is that it is a royal PIA to work from the bow end without being trapped between the two ropes, but it works. I always tie a small line from the camberspar hardware around the forestay, because I have found that for some strange reason the hardware does not float (learned that the hard way also, so now I have 2 replacements for future use).

As far as taking the jib down, when the sail is down and lashed to the camberspar, I leave the topping lift attached to the clew end of the camberspar. I don’t want it on the deck. I do not think there is any way to drop the jib and lash it to the camberspar without going forward and pulling it down. This can be a challenge in heavy weather. I have learned the hard way to take the sail down before getting into a squall. The first year I had the boat, I was 10 miles off shore and did not get the jib down in time before a wicked squall packing 55 kn winds hit. Luckly the main was down. I thought the sail was going to rip. Now, when in doubt, I drop the sail. Even with 20-25 kn winds it can be a challenge, and I try when possible to find whatever shelter I can find before dropping the jib. This and the camberspar issues discussed above may be why some people re-outfit their Freedom with a roller furling jib.

Another problem I had with this is that the topping lift once caught on my steaming light and tore off the light. When I replaced the steaming light, I put one on that was a bit larger than the old one. Now, I cannot sail with the topping lift attached to the clew end of the camberspar. Before raising the sail, I disconnect the topping lift, lower the camberspar to the deck and tighten the jib sheet. I release the jib sheet when the sail is about 3/4 of the way up. When sailing I lash the topping lift to the mast with a velcro strap to keep it from flopping around.

I hope this is helpful.

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Congrats on the new boat! I think there were about 50 F28’s built.
The sails are fairly easy to handle but you will need to get used to a few quirks.

For the main, try to stay directly into the wind and make sure the full battens clear the lazy jacks on the way up. Get the halyard fairly tight because the luff and halyard will stretch a bit at first. I find using a Cunningham extremely helpful in general.

For the jib, it helps to keep the hanks from dropping down too far down the headstay and the topping lift helps make things easier while raising the sail. Forestay tension needs to be loose enough and you will notice a bend where the camberspar meets the forestay once the sail is up. That’s perfectly normal. I find it pretty easy to take down since it’s so small. You can keep it on deck with the sheet and quickly go forward to put a quick tie or two on.

The photo shows how I have mine set up. Good luck!

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As you say, raising the main while keeping directly into the wind is critical to prevent the battens from getting caught in the lazy jacks.

I suggest you keep the main sheet tight so the lazy jacks are tight until the sail is about 3/4 of the way up, then give the main sheet and the vang (if you have one) a lot of slack so the aft end of the boom can raise while trying to get the luff tight to the mast. If you do not loosen the main sheet and vang before fully raising the sail, the halyard will fight the sheet and vang as you are trying to get the luff tight against the mast, which can result in snapping the main halyard. I learned this the hard way.

When lowering the sail, I suggest you head into the wind, loosen the vang and main sheet, take a boat hook and push up on the aft end of the boom while your crew goes forward to tighten the lazy jacks as tight as they can. Then, before dropping the main, tighten the main sheet so the lazy jacks are very taught. This allows the main to drop neatly onto the boom and prevent the main from flopping over the sides of the boom. This also keeps the boom high above the dodger and Bimini (if you have them) when the sail is down.