Camber spar

SunnyIsleMark
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:42 am

Re: Camber spar

Post by SunnyIsleMark »

Maybe this will help…
Attachments
B07E8A09-C058-43D0-954F-7D26AC708349.jpeg
B07E8A09-C058-43D0-954F-7D26AC708349.jpeg (310.7 KiB) Viewed 1118 times

User avatar
GeoffSchultz
Posts: 1135
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:39 am
Location: BlueJacket: Guatemala
Contact:

Re: Camber spar

Post by GeoffSchultz »

Personally, I've found that tying a lanyard on to it through the provided hole works fine.

-- Geoff

P.S. I've never lost one in 24 years of ownership.
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: Camber spar

Post by mike cunningham »

The wrap this topic up I have confirmed the longer "tacking arm" (that is what the patent calls it) must be affixed to the sheet and the small loop affixed to the topping lift. OK, now I know what everyone else knew years ago.

Reading the patent gave a much better understanding of how this thing is supposed to work.

Turns out I had it rigged right ... by accident. But... I believe I need to look at the length of my topping lift. It seems like the topping lift should be short enough, when the sail is amidships and the sheet fully pulled in, that the topping lift ring remains on top and the tacking arm is oriented toward the deck. This places the camberspar bow is an upward orientation which is appropriate for that sail trim.

That is not what I see in the picture posted in the thread but I am going to see what happens of I shorten the topping lift a bit
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

Fwelles508
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2023 9:03 am

Re: Camber spar

Post by Fwelles508 »

Hi there Mike. I have my first Freedom, a Pedrick 35. You mentioned the topping lift RE shortening. Can you provide some insight into the correct height for the clew on the jib. Thanks
‘“Rewired”
1995 Freedom 35
Falmouth MA

User avatar
RadioZephyr
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:04 am
Location: Boston, MA

Re: Camber spar

Post by RadioZephyr »

Fwelles508 wrote:
Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:39 am
Hi there Mike. I have my first Freedom, a Pedrick 35. You mentioned the topping lift RE shortening. Can you provide some insight into the correct height for the clew on the jib. Thanks
My $0.02: make it long enough to just keep the spar off the deck when the sail is down, but short enough to not get snagged on anything when you tack. My topping lift used to get caught on one of the buckles for my Mack Pack when I came about in certain wind conditions, requiring a trip forward to free it. I've since replaced them with low profile buckles, but my solution that season was to shorten the topping lift by about 8", which did the trick.
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

Fwelles508
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2023 9:03 am

Re: Camber spar

Post by Fwelles508 »

Thanks. The topping lift is about 4’ longer than would be necessary which is why it was confusing me.
‘“Rewired”
1995 Freedom 35
Falmouth MA

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: Camber spar

Post by mike cunningham »

This latest question re topping lift length is timely for me.

I singlehand so going up to the mast to fuss with the main for whatever reason requires the boat to be on the AP and it just does its thing. Meanwhile I am up there in a seaway holding on for dear life with my arm wrapped around the mast which leaves me with not much other arm left to do whatever I need to do.

I recently installed two 6" inch long horizontal handholds at the gooseneck bulge one port one starboard. This has been a big help. I can transition from the weather deck to the cabin top with a firm grip on the handhold and I have plenty of arm available to get to the headboard or whatever I need to do up there.

The problem was the camberspar topping lift had enough slack to wrap around my handhold..not good. obviously.

So I have been looking at exactly how long the topping lift needs to be in order to avoid any "lift" on the camberspar while minimizing slack. In my dockside experiments, the topping lift must be a bit longer to accommodate easing the sail when sailing deep and less length when close hauled. So a little bit of slack is unavoidable. When I get that magic length, I find the camberspar is held off the cabin top (on my boat) by about 24 inches, so fairly high.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have a 12 inch standoff at the fore stay so the camberspar cannot drop all the way to the deck when I douse the sail. If it does drop all the way to the deck the notorious camberspar clip starts to bind and it's hard to raise the sail without going forward to un bind it.

The result is, when doused, the sail hangs well above the deck fore and aft. This works out perfectly. First, the sail is out of way of my anchor activity although I do tie it off to one side when anchoring (which I do a lot). Second, when it is time to put the boat away, the sailcover is easier to manage because there is plenty of room below the folded sail. Third, the cover and sail are well away from the deck thus preventing any chafe to the cover or sail.

I imagine this is a little different for each boat. To check it out on yours you will need a nice day where you can raise the jib at the dock and do some testing. Then you'll need to go sailing and do some more testing/tweaking. The objective being to find the sweet spot re length.

Another alternative, which I have now adopted, is to install a clip on the topping lift and remove it from the Camberspar when sailing and attach it to a bungee on the toe rail. It is not much hassle. Turns out I have the jib up a LOT. I'll often put it up and sail 30 or 40 miles downwind, jib only. Way more comfortable in 20 Kts and surprisingly fast too. So it is not like I am doing the clip thing twenty times a day. When lowering the sail without the topping lift I go slow until the spar is on deck then drop as usual. This works fine.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

SunnyIsleMark
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:42 am

Re: Camber spar

Post by SunnyIsleMark »

On my F28, the topping lift was led aft to a stopper so it could be adjusted under way easily. I ended up using that stopper and block for a cunningham instead, as it was more useful to me. I put the topping lift on an adjustable cleat at the base of the mast since I was adjusting it mostly when taking down the jib or raising it off the deck at anchor. I leave a fair amount of slack in it under sail and can see the logic in just using the halyard as a topping lift when not sailing. I’ve never used it for sail shaping but I guess in very light air downwind it could be good to have.

Mark

Post Reply