Stepping Carbon Masts

[edgarm]

I have to drop the masts on a freedom 33 (carbon) soon in order to transport my boat by truck. Has anyone gone through this process? Does anyone know how the masts are attached at the keel step and at the deck level?...Thanks for any help...Edgarm

[Eric Sponberg]

I have to drop the masts on a freedom 33 (carbon) soon in order to transport my boat by truck. Has anyone gone through this process? Does anyone know how the masts are attached at the keel step and at the deck level?...Thanks for any help...Edgarm

Hi Ed,

I designed masts for some of the Freedom Yachts while I was Chief Engineer at TPI, the builder of Freedoms. On the Freedom 33, I belive there is an aluminum heel fitting which we called a "Top Hat", because that is what it looked like. It is a section of pipe that fits up inside the mast and it has a flange or plate welded on the bottom. There should be a bolt or two bolted through the mast wall and the pipe wall. Take out that bolt, the remove the mast wedges at the deck, and the mast should lift off. You will need to do this with a mast crane--they are too heavy to lift out by hand. Once out of the boat, you should see two bolts near the center of the plate of the mast heel Top Hat fitting. Those bolts bolt the Top Hat to the shelf or structure on which it sits. Undo those bolts, and the Top Hat will come free.

Give me a call if you need any other information or help.

I hope that helps.

Eric

[edgarm]

thanks Eric, that is exactly the info I was needing...