Sailboats with Free Standing Masts

[solarbri]

The one and only Cat2Fold...

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by solarbri

The one and only Cat2Fold...

That is interesting and unusual!
Thanks for sharing the photos here and adding to the mix of FSM boats.

Please tell us something about that boat.

[solarbri]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

That is interesting and unusual!
Thanks for sharing the photos here and adding to the mix of FSM boats.

Please tell us something about that boat.

Everything about her is designed around the fact that she fold, on the water, from her 24' beam, to a legally trailerable, 8.5'.
I've owned her since 2011 and have sailed around 20,000 miles over the past six winters up and down the west coast of Mexico.
The first year I had her, we went and sailed for a week on both Jackson Lake and Yellowstone Lake!!!
I can't say enough times how EASY this boat is to sail!

[Steadman Uhlich]

SOLARBRI,

Thanks for the additional photos and info. Very interesting boat. The photo showing it on the road is good at making the point of how you can move it around. Cool!

[Steadman Uhlich]

Saw this boat photo posted on Wooden Boat Forum by Scotty Mudgekin. I asked for his permission to share it here. He wrote that it was seen off Nanaimo BC Canada.

Another sailor wrote that it was homebuilt, and that it is designed to fit inside a 40' container for shipping anywhere.

[rhubstuff]

I own the Sea Pearl 28 pictured, the one with the black hull. I can sail her by myself, lower and raise the masts myself (using an a-frame made out of two sunfish masts), and launch and retrieve her by myself. There is full standing headroom under the dodger and the hatchway is very large. Stowage space is tremendous. We leave the galley out and do not stow it in the QB space. Amazingly, there is seating room for eight people below. Weight is 6060 lbs with trailer. She is not for sale, but you can PM me for more info about the breed.

[beiland]

Originally Posted by rhubstuff

I own the Sea Pearl 28 pictured, the one with the black hull.

Pictured where??

[CptAlex]

Originally Posted by beiland

Pictured where??

I think he's referring to these pictures

[Steadman Uhlich]

Freedom 45 Center Cockpit

This is a beautiful boat, especially if you like boats with Free Standing Masts, as I do.

Look at the nice interior. Very nice. This is the first of this model I have seen.

Rather than posting the usual specs and notes on gear, I will refer you to a newly placed ad in the CF Classifieds forum. The owner of the boat has it listed for sale, and has posted a very detailed description of the boat and gear. I hope he will add some comments on the design, here in this discussion thread.

Here is a link to the ad on CF, if you want to see more photos and to learn more.
For Sale: Freedom 45 CC - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

[Steadman Uhlich]

To Anyone Reading This:

If you own(ed) a boat (of any make) that has a Free Standing Mast, I encourage you to post your own comments about your boat, such as its quirks, handling, features you loved or hated, construction details, long passages you made, ease of use, etc.

Anecdotes about your boat may help others understand the particular boat type you have/had, and bring back good memories for sailors and help others learn..


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ts-150283.html

[Scaramanga F25]

Wire rigging was used on antique aircraft too.

No reason for stayed masts.

I loved my Freedom. Very light mast (weight aloft) too.

[Freedom45]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Freedom 45 Center Cockpit

This is a beautiful boat, especially if you like boats with Free Standing Masts, as I do.

Look at the nice interior. Very nice. This is the first of this model I have seen.

Rather than posting the usual specs and notes on gear, I will refer you to a newly placed ad in the CF Classifieds forum. The owner of the boat has it listed for sale, and has posted a very detailed description of the boat and gear. I hope he will add some comments on the design, here in this discussion thread.

Here is a link to the ad on CF, if you want to see more photos and to learn more.
For Sale: Freedom 45 CC - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

I own/ am selling this boat. I cruised the Pacific with her for 3 years and can attest it is a very capable and comfortable boat for a sailing couple.
My wife and I love the boat(we aquired another boat so must sell our beloved Free Spirit)
It took us only 19 days to cruise from Mexico to Marquesus.
The boat is fast and comfortable, very stiff so not much heeling.
Easiest boat to sail, has only two sheets, one jib and one main...and downwind you only need the main, we found furling the jib while sailing downwind to be the way to go. We could reach hull speed with just the main.(don't really need the spinnaker)
No standing rigging means no maintenance or expensive replacement .
I don't undrstand why this rig did not become the standard......

[SqPeg]

Does anyone have the specs for a spinnaker on a Vision 32? The boat came with the sail but I think there is a pole missing.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Herreshoff Cat Ketch (Free Standing Masts)
___________________________

Steady's Notes

The photos of the boat show a nice looking boat, in what appears to be good condition. As with any boat, a survey is a good idea. Caveat Emptor.

I like what I see in the photos. The interior plan or layout is different from most boats. It has two double berths with two heads, a dinette and two barrel chairs (I don't care for those chairs). The wood interior appears to be in good condition and is more unusual than most boats of this era, because of the lighter wood finish. There are more photos showing the interior and cockpit and details on the linked page.

This is an uncommon boat. The Free Standing Masts are a positive feature in my view. If you are unfamiliar with this design, see the thread I started on "Boats with Free Standing Masts" for much more information and many owner comments.

It has a shallow draft. 4' 6"
____________________

Year = 1985

Asking Price = $29,000

Location = Hampton, VA, USA
________________________________

Specifications from Sale Ad Listing

Additional Specs, Equipment and Information:

Specs
Keel: Fin

Dimensions
LOA: 37 ft 9 in
Beam: 11 ft 6 in
LWL: 34 ft 0 in
Maximum Draft: 4 ft 6 in
Displacement: 13800 lbs
Ballast: 5500 lbs
Headroom: 6 ft 6 in

Engines
Total Power: 32 HP

Engine 1:
Engine Brand: Nanni (Kabota)
Year Built: 1985
Engine/Fuel Type: Diesel
Drive Type: V Drive
Engine Power: 32 HP


Tanks
Fresh Water Tanks: (100 Gallons)
Fuel Tanks: (38 Gallons)

Accommodations
Number of heads: 2

Outside Equipment/Extras
Manual windlass

__________________

Link to Ad with contact info.
1985 Herreshoff Cat Ketch Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
__________________________________

All photos in this post are from THIS ad for THIS boat.
___________________________________

My Disclaimers and Requests

I have no financial or other connection to this boat or the seller.
I have not seen this boat in person, nor have I sailed on it.
As with any boat, it is a good idea to research the design to learn about how they sail, common problems and owner opinions.
As with any boat, it is smart to have a qualified yacht surveyor perform a survey of the boat to assess its condition.
I am posting this to help others find boats. This one caught my eye, and I hope this thread helps others find a good fit for them.
I hope this thread proves helpful to CF Members. If so, let me know, as it is nice to know the time spent on it has helped others.
IF you purchase this boat, let me know (a PM would be OK).
IF you purchase this boat, I would enjoy seeing it, or going for a sail on it, if I am ever in your area. Or, if you own a similar or sister boat send me a PM. I enjoy sailing on a wide variety of boats and would like to get some time on many designs, including this one.

[lounge sailor]

Ok, I'll play.
We've lived on Copernicus, a Spencer 42 for 28 years. 18 years ago for a laugh and something to do we built a custom pre-peg carbon fibre free standing mast. It was designed by Eric Sponberg and he also designed a nifty carbon fibre spade rudder for the boat but thats another story.

Having the opportunity to sail the same boat with two different kind of rigs over a longish period of time has given us some cool insights to the good and bad of both.

Pluses and minuses of the unstayed compared to the old stayed rig on Copernicus

Pluses,
Faster, way faster, on all points of sail, especially in light airs.
Easier to handle despite having more sail area.
Sailing with just the main up is still pretty fast.
Quiet, no high pitched screeching in high winds.
On offshore passages reefing downwind is easier for crew to single hand.
Fewer single point failure scenarios.
Deeper DW angles without giving away too much boat speed.
Handier and more predictable in tight quarters.
A slight improvement in windward ability.
Having to unlearn a lot of ingrained stayed rig sailing knowledge/thinking.
Tons more fun to day sail.
Carey can and does sail the boat by herself with little effort.
Serious geeking out on Dyneema splices and the like. Of course the same can be done with a stayed rig so call that a wash.
Did I mention quiet?

Minuses
Getting proper, well shaped set of sails took work
Halyards that in our case need to be low stretch line.
One off rig means most of the hardware is custom (read expensive)
Having to beef up the gooseneck, deck gear, vang, mainsheet blocks and such.
Lightning now scares the crap out of me.
Having to unlearn a lot of ingrained stayed rig sailing knowledge/thinking.

Thats about it, me thinks,
Cheers,
Bryan
PS. In the bow on shot I'm sailing singlehanded in La Paz harbour in 20 knots of wind and in my excitment had forgotten to crank up on the jib halyard, hence the uncharactaristic jibstay sag. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
More photos and vids here. The Boat - oliveoyl