creaking sounds

[TSailors]

hi . On my comfortina 32, the mast makes a nasty sound like tack-tack-tack whenever it moves . any ideas how to silence it easily ? would grease help from above ? many thanks .

 

[pmagowan]

Is it wires inside the mast? If it is just creaking against the deck then a better pad here will help. We used thick rubber wedges. If wires you need to use conduit or attach cable ties at regular intervals with the tails sticking out

 

[Laysula]

If all else fails turn the radio up.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

If all else fails turn the radio up.

... or scoff some Pringles.

 

[srm]

Oh the joys of yacht ownership. You will have to find the cause of which there are many with some suggested already. Of the many possibilities I had learnt over the years my last boat threw up a new one to catch me out and keep us awake after a couple of years of cruising in her. The noise was generated by the gooseneck as the boom moved very slightly on an otherwise calm night at anchor.
Slightly off thread; the new owner complained of a sleepless night in the marina. Looking at the boat the next day I knew exactly why, the black mooring rope on the forward cleat over his bunk. No idea why but we had learnt from experience that specific type of rope was noisy under load.

 

[Wansworth]

My father on his new halcyon 27 complained of a vibration,he even wrote a letter(1970) to the builders!.Anywayhe mentioned this annoying noise and offered a tener to anyone who could solve the problem……….later lying in my bunk it came to me……he bowsed down the Main sheet to stop the boom swingingabout.Slackeningoff the mainsheet cured it

 

[TSailors]

Many thanks everyone ! it turns out it's that table that the pringles are sitting on lol! I'm gonna drop it and put some duct tape around the mast so that there is something between wood and the aluminum .

 

[jbweston]

I hate rattles, squeaks and bangs in boats and in cars. So I take nerdy delight in hunting them down. Some of them are really difficult to track down as they're infrequent and at random intervals.

On my last boat over the years I got rid of most of them with a collection of little wedges, tape padding where shackles connected, and plastic hose on the anchor rode where it went over the roller. The most troublesome was the vibrating topping lift at certain wind strengths when moored or at anchor. Easily sorted by slackening it - whereupon the mainsheet blocks clicked at random intervals as the boom moved almost imperceptibly from side to side.

 

[Boathook]

I hate rattles, squeaks and bangs in boats and in cars. So I take nerdy delight in hunting them down. Some of them are really difficult to track down as they're infrequent and at random intervals.

On my last boat over the years I got rid of most of them with a collection of little wedges, tape padding where shackles connected, and plastic hose on the anchor rode where it went over the roller. The most troublesome was the vibrating topping lift at certain wind strengths when moored or at anchor. Easily sorted by slackening it - whereupon the mainsheet blocks clicked at random intervals as the boom moved almost imperceptibly from side to side.

I tie my boom to one side which stops all of that. Added bonus is that the boom doesn't cover the solar panel so much.

 

[srm]

My father on his new halcyon 27 complained of a vibration,he even wrote a letter(1970) to the builders!.Anywayhe mentioned this annoying noise and offered a tener to anyone who could solve the problem……….later lying in my bunk it came to me……he bowsed down the Main sheet to stop the boom swingingabout.Slackeningoff the mainsheet cured it

Mine was the opposite, set up a tight preventer on the boom to silence the gooseneck.
One season a previous boat used to sing down below when sailing in a fresh breeze, one of the backstays had just the right tension for a harmonic frequency. The mast was taken out when ashore in the winter as a precaution against strong winds so rigging tensions varied a bit.

 

[pmagowan]

If rigging sings just wrap a halyard round it a few times. The helical shape disturbs the tendency to create vortices and stops the noise. Changing tension can cure it but the tension is there for a reason and often you just sing a different note!

 

[bergie]

My father on his new halcyon 27 complained of a vibration,he even wrote a letter(1970) to the builders!

Our mast vibrates when certain wind speeds hit it sideways. Caused by vortex shedding.

Previous owner had a small strip of mainsail (about 10cm wide) that he hoisted up to prevent this. We figured out that hoisting a fender to about half mast height and having it tight against the mast works even better.



Gets a lot of questions in marinas, though.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Time is on your side. Deafness comes with advancing age.

 

[LittleSister]

Lack of a mast conduit on our boat caused the wires to clang In the slightest roll, really annoying sound that you end up turning into... I don't miss that.

Yes, I had that on a boat I had some years ago. Hellish!

 

[dunedin]

Lack of a mast conduit on our boat caused the wires to clang In the slightest roll, really annoying sound that you end up turning into... I don't miss that.

We had that - when mast was next out I slid some pipe lagging up the wires. Only 3 or 4 lengths but entirely cured the wires from slapping on our boat

 

[TSailors]

unlike what I said before , it turns out it was the boom after all. oiled and greased the joints until it stopped . bliss !