Posted by Rick Higgens (higgens@…>)
I had the mast on my F30 pulled last fall for some maint and just a
sanity check since it hadn’t been removed in who knows how long. I
didn’t have any water in the mast. If it’s working properly, the
water in the mast should “weep” out near the aft side of the base,
right next to the weep hole where it should drain into the bilge.
Just an FYI, Paul Dennis told me to enlarge (drill out) the weep hole
since it was draining so slowly. This weep hole goes through the
fiberglass into the channel that runs from under the V-berth into the
bilge. This channel is prone to getting clogged. The previous owner
used a thin piece of steel about the size of a coat hanger to run
through the channel to keep it clear. If the channel is clogged close
to where it empties into the bilge, so will your weep hole be clogged.
Back to pulling the mast, as for the deck collar, I used the main
halyard, shackles and winch to pull it away from the deck. The
beveled rubber gasket under the collar I removed with a mongo
screwdriver prying it all around. Paul looked at it and said it was a
good fit and that some weren’t quite snug enough. It should be flush
with the cabin top when installed right. And it may be obvious but
make sure once the mast is free from the plug that you remove the bolt
the keeps it centered on the plug BEFORE you try and get it out of the
cabin top. I just stepped the mast a few weeks ago with Paul’s
supervision. One thing I learned was that my original mast bolt was
missing a piece of hose that’s supposed to be over the length of the
bolt. The previous owner has said he was having the occasional mast
shift CLANG in rolling seas. Paul said this was probably the reason.
He cut me a piece of hose which seemed to tight for the slot in the
plug but when we set it in, the weight dropped it into the slot
securely. He also beveled the inside edge of the mast to make it sit
better on the plug. When I stepped it he told me to put a generous
bead of silicon inside the mast and around the mast base MAKING SURE
TO LEAVE THE WEEP AREA CLEAR (no silicon in that section).
By the way, with the assistance of the previous owners, I got my F30
moved from Warren, RI to Oriental, NC the last couple weeks. It was a
real learning experience and the boat did great. The last day we were
sailing in the Pamlico Sound in 20-25K with the 3rd reef in and the
boat handled like a dream! It was a wonderful 12 days bringing it down…
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, Richard Fontaine
<rafontaine1@…> wrote:
Bob:
A little humor - dont’s stand near the mast step when they pull the
mast lest you want to get soaked by the residual water accumulated in
the base of the mast. Frtunately when I prepared my F36 for shipping
from Harbor Springs MI to Portsmouth RI I was witness to the yard
worker when he got dumped on by the water in the base of the mast when
they pulled the mast.
Rich Fontaine
Liberte, F36
Portsmouth, RI
----- Original Message ----
From: Bob Weeks <rweeks6508@…>
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, May 4, 2007 10:29:14 PM
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Freedom 30
Happy to say I am in the final stages of purchasing a F30. The only
thing that concerns my is having to unstep the mast and prepare it and
the boat for shipping by truck. Have anyone gone through this
recently and can you give me what pointers you may have?
Bob
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Posted by Richard Fontaine (rafontaine1@…>)
Before re-steping mast I drilled a hole in the mast step and fitted a nylon hose 3/8 from the hole in the mast step to a dedicated sump for shower etc. This way any water that enters the mast goes to separate reservoir for pump out. No more water build up. As the F36 mast step is above the cabin sole I applied silicone to the mast step before installing mast. No leaks on cabin sole and no water accumulation in the mast.
Rich
----- Original Message ----From: Rick Higgens <higgens@…>To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.comSent: Sunday, May 6, 2007 2:01:55 PMSubject: [freedomyachts2003] Re: Freedom 30 Mast
I had the mast on my F30 pulled last fall for some maint and just asanity check since it hadn’t been removed in who knows how long. Ididn’t have any water in the mast. If it’s working properly, thewater in the mast should “weep” out near the aft side of the base,right next to the weep hole where it should drain into the bilge. Just an FYI, Paul Dennis told me to enlarge (drill out) the weep holesince it was draining so slowly. This weep hole goes through thefiberglass into the channel that runs from under the V-berth into thebilge. This channel is prone to getting clogged. The previous ownerused a thin piece of steel about the size of a coat hanger to runthrough the channel to keep it clear. If the channel is clogged closeto where it empties into the bilge, so will your weep hole be clogged.Back to pulling the mast, as for the deck collar, I used the mainhalyard, shackles and winch to pull it away from the deck.
Thebeveled rubber gasket under the collar I removed with a mongoscrewdriver prying it all around. Paul looked at it and said it was agood fit and that some weren’t quite snug enough. It should be flushwith the cabin top when installed right. And it may be obvious butmake sure once the mast is free from the plug that you remove the boltthe keeps it centered on the plug BEFORE you try and get it out of thecabin top. I just stepped the mast a few weeks ago with Paul’ssupervision. One thing I learned was that my original mast bolt wasmissing a piece of hose that’s supposed to be over the length of thebolt. The previous owner has said he was having the occasional mastshift CLANG in rolling seas. Paul said this was probably the reason.He cut me a piece of hose which seemed to tight for the slot in theplug but when we set it in, the weight dropped it into the slotsecurely. He also beveled the inside edge of the mast to make
it sitbetter on the plug. When I stepped it he told me to put a generousbead of silicon inside the mast and around the mast base MAKING SURETO LEAVE THE WEEP AREA CLEAR (no silicon in that section). By the way, with the assistance of the previous owners, I got my F30moved from Warren, RI to Oriental, NC the last couple weeks. It was areal learning experience and the boat did great. The last day we weresailing in the Pamlico Sound in 20-25K with the 3rd reef in and theboat handled like a dream! It was a wonderful 12 days bringing it down…— In freedomyachts2003@ yahoogroups. com, Richard Fontaine<rafontaine1@ …> wrote:>> Bob: > > A little humor - dont’s stand near the mast step when they pull themast lest you want to get soaked by the residual water accumulated inthe base of the mast. Frtunately
when I prepared my F36 for shippingfrom Harbor Springs MI to Portsmouth RI I was witness to the yardworker when he got dumped on by the water in the base of the mast whenthey pulled the mast.> > Rich Fontaine> Liberte, F36> Portsmouth, RI > > > ----- Original Message ----> From: Bob Weeks <rweeks6508@ …>> To: freedomyachts2003@ yahoogroups. com> Sent: Friday, May 4, 2007 10:29:14 PM> Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Freedom 30> > Happy to say I am in the final stages of purchasing a F30. The only > thing that concerns my is having to unstep the mast and prepare it and > the boat for shipping by truck. Have anyone gone through this > recently and can you give me what pointers you may have?> > Bob > > > > >
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