Can I build 50' free-standing masts out of composite?

[BATAAN]

I'm also taking a shot in the dark that few have deeply researched or spent many years sailing the CL and rely on others to tell them how it works.

[Seafarer24]

I've been researching the junk rig for at least 5 years. Rigging a Freedom 40 like this is not a new idea to me, but I thought I would sail around on my current boat for a while (5-10 years) before I'd ever find a F40 that I could afford.

I've got the current owner considering an even trade for my boat, which is very close to ready-to-sail and comes with a host of gear that this F40 doesn't have: a diesel generator, fresh-water maker, mast and sails, enclosed head with shower....

I went aboard this morning and measured the ID of the mast collars, and they are a whopping 11.375". I figure the mast is probably 11.25" with a .0625" space all the way around to be shimmed? The mainmast was 4' from step to partners and I couldn't measure the mizzen bury but am assuming it is similar. I recall hull #1 had the mizzen stepped on the forward end of the centerboard trunk and the masts were interchangeable. I completely forgot to measure the distance between the masts!

This boat originally had aluminum masts which cracked and were replaced with carbon fiber under warranty. These were torn off when a bridge tender dropped a bridge on the boat, and for some reason the owner never replaced them. Probably because he was 80-something years old and using the boat as a trawler by that point. He had sailed the boat from California, all along the west coast and South America, through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. He then went up the east coast at least as far as the TPI plant to get the masts replaced before returning to FL where he eventually sold it to the marine mechanic that currently owns it but is not at all interested in sailboats.

So, due to the ID of the collar I suspect I am back to building a hollow wooden mast. I doubt that the 10" OD light poles would be strong enough after all.

[Eric Sponberg]

Originally Posted by Seafarer24

I've been researching the junk rig for at least 5 years. Rigging a Freedom 40 like this is not a new idea to me, but I thought I would sail around on my current boat for a while (5-10 years) before I'd ever find a F40 that I could afford.

I've got the current owner considering an even trade for my boat, which is very close to ready-to-sail and comes with a host of gear that this F40 doesn't have: a diesel generator, fresh-water maker, mast and sails, enclosed head with shower....

I went aboard this morning and measured the ID of the mast collars, and they are a whopping 11.375". I figure the mast is probably 11.25" with a .0625" space all the way around to be shimmed? The mainmast was 4' from step to partners and I couldn't measure the mizzen bury but am assuming it is similar. I recall hull #1 had the mizzen stepped on the forward end of the centerboard trunk and the masts were interchangeable. I completely forgot to measure the distance between the masts!

This boat originally had aluminum masts which cracked and were replaced with carbon fiber under warranty. These were torn off when a bridge tender dropped a bridge on the boat, and for some reason the owner never replaced them. Probably because he was 80-something years old and using the boat as a trawler by that point. He had sailed the boat from California, all along the west coast and South America, through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. He then went up the east coast at least as far as the TPI plant to get the masts replaced before returning to FL where he eventually sold it to the marine mechanic that currently owns it but is not at all interested in sailboats.

So, due to the ID of the collar I suspect I am back to building a hollow wooden mast. I doubt that the 10" OD light poles would be strong enough after all.

No, your initial assumption is correct, 10" aluminum tapered tubes were the original mast sizes, although as I said, I am unsure of the wall thickness. The partner wedges were very thick rubber collars that fit around each mast. The mizzen bury is about 6.5', and the mizzen is stepped on top of the centerboard trunk. The distance between the masts, center to center, is 20' 10". They are raked aft slightly.

Eric

[Steve W]

The reason the owner never replaced the carbon masts was probably the between collecting a large insurance settlement for new carbon ones and still having the boat to sell sans masts he probably ended up with way more $$ than he could have sold the complete boat for.
Steve.