finding used boat parts

[Owly055]

    I'm interested in the carbon fiber masts of the Freedom yachts for a proposed junk rig conversion on a trimaran.   The problem with such a conversion is weight, and balance.   A free standing aluminum mast is usually made from an aluminum flagpole or streetlight pole, and they are not light, but by the time you remove all the standing rigging, vang, unneeded winches, traveler, etc, it's generally a wash.   However the boat that best suits my criteria as a proven cruiser, in a size range that makes sense for me, availability and pricing that make sense, has the problem that rather than being a fractional, it's a masthead sloop with a main that is only 76% the size of the foretriangle.   My math and the structure and  layout of the boat dictate that the mast be placed around 41" forward of it's original location.  This is a fairly  massive shift in the balance of the boat, and will have to be compensated for by moving things like fresh water, tankage and batteries aft sufficiently to offset this change.   The rig itself, though it can use much lighter sailcloth, has not just a boom, but a boom, a bunch of battens, and a yard, and while the boom can be far lighter on a junk rig than a Bermuda, the battens and yard add up, and the yard must be pretty stout.  This means that it's necessary to achieve weight savings everywhere possible.   It means carbon fiber wherever possible.   It means "used or expensive".   
     I mentioned the Freedom boats the other day as their free standing carbon fiber masts are about perfect for my application, and in fact they would make a wonderful junk rig conversion because of the so called "catboat" rig, where the mast is far forward, free standing, and the fractional rig has a jib that is only 33% (approx) the area of the main, which means the mast can be used as is, and achieve a proper helm balance.   Many of these have been built, so it follows that some have been wrecked.
     The challenge is how to find a mast from a wrecked boat.  There can be no doubt that one exists somewhere.......... So how does one go about locating something that can be anywhere in the world?  Or anywhere in the US.   The mast I want is lying in a corner in a boatyard somewhere all but forgotten.

                                                                                                       H.W.

[SeaHusky]

I can't help you with your query  but out of curiosity, what boat are you focusing on?
If you don't find the mast material you need could a two mast rig be a solution?

[ralay]

Is there an owners' association/website for Freedom Yachts?  There's a Westsail Owners Association with a classified section for folks who are looking to buy/sell/trade used Westsail parts.  If we totalled our hull, the WOA is the first place I'd go to try to sell the rig. 

There's also this website:
http://boatpartsferret.com/
I've "Sent Freddy on a Mission" a few times for rare things.  I've never had anyone reply with the part, but then again, it doesn't hurt to try. 

You can also set up an RSS feed on SearchTempest to search craigslist over many locations. 

[ralay]

Classified section of forum for Freedom owners:

http://www.freedomyachts.org/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=cb563181ebc3a83c892bceab2b1e3dff

[Norman]

from the second page of the site, good point, RALAY!

Re: Carbon fiber masts for sale

Postby tanton37 ? Wed Jul 27, 2016 5:21 pm

Paid 12K USD for everything (verifiable from seller). Looking to recover cost only. Located close to Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Thanks for your interest. Let me know if I can be of further help.
I can assist with transport at low cost as well.
Cheers, David

[ralay]

When I was looking for the owners' association, I also found this:

http://www.junkrigassociation.org/Resources/Documents/Freedom%20Mast%20Repairs%20%28Spondberg%29.pdf

It has some info on the spars, some problems, and their fixes written by someone who worked for the spar manufacturer.  Maybe there will be something in there helpful to your project.

[Owly055]

When I was looking for the owners' association, I also found this:

http://www.junkrigassociation.org/Resources/Documents/Freedom%20Mast%20Repairs%20%28Spondberg%29.pdf

It has some info on the spars, some problems, and their fixes written by someone who worked for the spar manufacturer.  Maybe there will be something in there helpful to your project.

I had already read the article you mentioned at the JRA site.......... Thanks

And thanks to everybody else who posted links..... I'm already on the Yahoo group, and I see one set of masts was listed back in '08 up in Ontario in the Freedom Yachts.Org website.   Seller was trying to get $12K for two masts, and two suits of sails, one "fair", and one good.   A lot of money for something a long way away.   

........................... Thanks for the help everybody.   Time wise I'm a considerable way off from even beginning the project.  What I don't want to do is buy a boat for the project and then spend a year or two trying to work out how to do it and obtaining materials, etc.    I'm building up a "program" in advance, trying to work out the details and resolve most of the problems in advance.   The choice is simple.  Work it out now, obtain a set of plans for the boat, read everything I can, locate suppliers, determine what changes I need and want to make, and how to do them, while someone else is paying slip fees or storage, or jump the gun and spend ten times as long, all the while paying slip fees or boatyard fees, and working under pressure as costs skyrocket and the launch date slips further and further away.  I know how these kinds of scenarios play out.  I'm very very good at engineering, and have done many rather radical projects over the years.  Advance planning and lots of forethought is the reason I get things done, and others give up.

                                     H.W.

[Owly055]

I can't help you with your query  but out of curiosity, what boat are you focusing on?
If you don't find the mast material you need could a two mast rig be a solution?

     I'm focusing on the SeaRunner 31 trimaran..... for a number or reasons.  It's not an "ideal" boat, but what boat is?  It's readily available in a price range that allows me to sink some money into it.  It's not got near the space I'd like, but it's a manageable size and sufficient for one person, a well proven blue water cruiser, and built using a construction method I have confidence in, and that makes modifications fairly easy.  The slightly larger '34 is preferable in many ways, but typically costs 2-3 times as much.   Monohull or multihull, either one involves conversion for the junk rig I want.   It is however a multihull I want.
                                                                                    H.W.

[CharlieJ]

Searunner 31 is a great boat. Jim's son stopped by while I was building my tri, aboard a 31'r. ( i knew Jim years ago) Showed me some things "my dad does" I asked "who is your dad?" and he told me. I listened.

Sadly I did not have time in 2011 to stop and visit Jim and Joanna when I came through Mathews Virginia ( he lives in North, just a few miles away)

Have sailed on a 34. It's a better boat for living aboard.

If I were converting to junk rig, I'd go the 34. He designed that after cruising several years aboard Shrimshaw, and felt it the better boat