Unstayed mast is creaking where it was sleeved in the past

[iansan5653]

My (new to me) 1983 Freedom 21 has an unstayed carbon fiber mast that rises 27' from the deck. At some point in the early 2000s, the mast broke and was repaired using an aluminum section and sleeve. The mast creaks (fairly loudly) as if it's shifting slightly when the boat sways. I've narrowed down the creaking to where the mast joins the sleeve - it seems that there is not an absolutely perfect fit there and the mast is able to move slightly. It's a very small amount of motion (less than a millimeter) but it's enough to cause that creaking noise.

Here's a photo of the creaking joint - you can see how it's not a perfect fit (ignore the hose clamp, that just holds the mast boot in place):

I have two questions that I am hoping someone more experienced can help me with:

First: how serious is this problem? Should I avoid sailing until I get it solved? I know I can't leave it like this forever or it will continue to wear itself down and get worse, but I don't know if I absolutely must fix it right now.

Second: my plan to fix it is to take apart the mast and coat the aluminum sleeve exterior and the mast interior with some thickened epoxy before reassembling the mast. My hope is that the epoxy will fill any gaps and prevent further motion and wear. Is this a good plan? Anything I should keep in mind?

Any advice at all is appreciated, thanks!

[fourlyons]

It is a common complaint with Freedoms that the masts creak and worse from the base of the mast where they sit on a fiberglass "tophat" bolted to the hull each time the boat tacks or the mast sways heavily. The fit between the tophat and the inside diameter of the mast is a little loose. A common fix there is to apply mold release to one surface and use epoxy to fill the small voids but still be able to pull the mast from the tophat.

Your situation sounds a little different, but your fix sounds fine if you don't want to be able to separate the mast and sleeve.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, iansan.