Heeling moment differences also depend on how the boat sails: if sailed more upright, heeling moment of the rig really isn't that much. Its clear from the experience of Rustler owners that they offer real benefits for cruising boats too. However, manual furling options are available as well. However, times have changed and there are several other factors to think about now, which may influence your choice. There are more options than ever when it comes to picking out a foil and a great place to start narrowing it down is the choice between aluminum and carbon. please contact a Tartan specialist today. Of the money you save, you can buy a dedicated wind foil sail, such as the Severne Foil Glide. However, choosing a carbon fibre mast can make even an excellent yacht a little bit better.
Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat. Reducing the sailboats overall displacement weight is a worthwhile advantage for racers and lightweight performance cruisers, which is why weve been offering carbon masts as a performance upgrade for our Rustler 24 and Rustler 33 for quite some time.

However, we are now seeing some hybrids, with aluminium masts and fuselage combined with carbon wings (for example: Starboard, Alpinefoil, Horue, Mantafoils) which try to give the best of all worlds. The difference was that obvious., The next yacht to have a carbon rig was a Rustler 37. What does make a difference, though, is where that weight is saved. Adrian explains: The weight saving calculation we did, in pictorial terms, was that it saves the weight of a 35hp outboard on the top set of spreaders. The further the weight is from the yachts vertical centre of gravity, the greater effect it will have on her stability. The mast bends during wind foiling, because you put pressure on 1 side or simply by moving your feet / weight on your board. Stiffness of the mast and fuselage is very important for both performance and stability. We started by putting a carbon mast on a Rustler 44, Rustler director Adrian Jones explains. By contrast, carbon mast construction methods (like the filament winding process used by Seldn who make the masts for most Rustlers and many other sailing yachts) allow the thickness and stiffness of a mast section to be varied and tailored for different loads along its length. They often sell directly without the middle man, they dont have huge overhead or marketing costs, and can therefore offer quality carbon foils at highly competitive prices (for example: Aeromod, Bug foils ). I discussed it with Stephen Jones, who designed the 42, to see if he thought we were doing the wrong thing, Adrian says. A lightweight carbon fiber mast also has the added advantages of being easier to step and/or remove for storage, shipping, or inspections. One of the disadvantages of extrusion, the manufacturing process used to make aluminium masts, is that it produces a mast with the same cross sectional size and wall thickness along its entire length. He rang me halfway through the trip and said Im sold on it!. Not much, but the foil then becomes a little restless.
columbia carbon sailing planing downwind All the other rigging (which is a substantial percentage of the weight) will be the same (unless it is not - replaced by something high tech which could be done for either aluminum or carbon rig and so an independent consideration). We respect your privacy and do not share your information. We only email about once a month - no spam! Paint flaking from carbon fiber is extremely rare, making a painted carbon fiber mast sleek and shiny for a long time to come. So why have we recently had three owners request a carbon fibre mast for their Rustler 42? In most cases it boils down to cost. Our experience is that the materials used and especially the mast are not stiff. Ill get you to the right answer for you by the end of the article! The new mast, excluding some new rigging, cost about US$55,000, as against an aluminum replacement mast, which would have cost about $30,000; a lot of money to us, particularly since it was capital we were spending that came from the sale of our house. Because I couldnt possibly afford one. He continues: While I cant afford one, our customers can. Third, the added stiffness of carbon fiber masts ensures the mast does not bend, twist or vibrate as much.
The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Actually, its easier to maintain than aluminum, which can pit or corrode if not perfectly maintained.
A carbon fiber mast typically costs 3-4 times more than an aluminum mast. They have competently handled the most demanding wind and weather conditions under sail, and have produced winning results in many of the worlds most prestigious sailing events. If you sail on the border of the wind foil (so that is with a lot of wind, > 18 knots) then the mast seems to twist a bit. Sunglasses designed for watersports!
aluminum The aluminium masts are wider and also thicker than the carbon masts. Then hes asked if he would buy one and he says No. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. His was 75 pounds. GMT carbon masts are light (approximately half the weight of aluminum), safe, dependable, and will make your vessel faster, stiffer and drier. This saves about 1 to 1.5 degrees. And is it really necessary to buy a carbon mast? Thank you for subscribing to our Carbonics Newsletter! Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Our masts have sailed in every ocean, including many successful passages around the globe. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The mast is narrower and less thick than the aluminum mast from Starboard. One important aspect is their carbon fiber mast. The ultimate board protector that doesn't get in the way. This mast gives less feedback and you also do not have the feeling that the foil sets itself. While GMT offers the finest and most up-to-date standing and running rigging, hardware and sail management systems, we also understand that not everyone has a grand prix racers budget. Actually, just like a big fin on a slalom board. This means that an aluminium mast is always thicker, stronger and heavier in places than it needs to be. How strong is carbon? This is because the mast has less resistance, which makes your push easier speed. This then comes at the expense of the speed and affects the functioning of the profile of the wings (the flow angle of the water is also no longer at odds with the wings). Contact us if you have any questions, were happy to help you out of the foil jungle and give you some advice before choosing the right foil for you! See our testimonials page for more. We design our carbon fiber masts to have this additional stiffness, but still retain enough bend to allow for easy rig tuning. Below you can read our advice. But density is 60% approx so you will save about 40% of the weight of the extrusion. Most yacht masts are aluminium. Carbon masts dont suffer from fatigue or corrosion (galvanic, pitting or otherwise) and the yield point of the material is greater than aluminium. Each of these advantages alone would result in an obvious difference in speed and feel, but we take it one step further. As mentioned above, our experience is that it is more difficult and less fun to learn the wind foiling! GMT Composites has been building carbon fiber masts for sailboats longer than any other builder in the world. The weight is saved along its length, but as the rig gets taller the weight saved has a greater effect on the boats stability. Where are you going to foil? Aluminium masts can last for 50 years or more, but its usually impractical to repair them if they suffer stress cracks or corrode. And we can't forget the custom Bill Lee 70' Merlin; She made a comeback winning the Transpac in 2017 using the mast we built for her in 2005. This allows you see the distinctive color and weave pattern of the carbon twill: its a high-tech look that remains distinctive and popular. Lets be clear: having an aluminium mast does not make our boats unstable or uncomfortable. This post gets to the real meat: How much did carbon fibre cost? We can match the color and grain of any species of tree and have been sent sections of actual wooden spars whose color, grain structure and even natural imperfections we were able to duplicate in polyurethane. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. (You can read this post to learn more about the 4 main windfoiling styles). A fully engineered, optimized, carbon fiber mast can truly outperform the competitionand that is why Tartan does. Its not unusual to hit the seafloor with the foil when returning to the beach, so if youre riding somewhere with a rocky floor then an aluminum foil will be much safer. With the correct techniques, competitive sailors can adjust their rigging, sails, and sail trims to utilize this engineering in conditions from light breezes to heavy gusts. It then feels a bit like a bit of turbulence. An additional benefit of the reduced weight includes an increase in your Tartans range of positive stability. Bene first 30, elan 320 / elan S3, pogo 30 etc. That owner sailed his boat to Seattle. Sometimes the idea of a carbon mast brings to mind the image of a failed racing experiment that was built with little to no factor of safety. If a carbon mast is damaged, it can often be quite easily repaired. JavaScript is disabled. There are different approaches for developing masts for racers, cruisers, and passagemakers. You may prefer carbon versus aluminium if you mainly foil in the sea. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Their beautiful finish, compared to aluminum, is easier to care for, doesnt corrode, and is exceptionally long-lasting. Hes absolutely right, it works.. We have built masts from 30 to 140 feet (10 to over 40 meters) in length. More questions? Part of the appeal of a Tartan yacht is its ability to last through numerous owners and generations (if anyone is willing to give theirs up that is!). The wind foils in the price range up to about 900,- often have a construction that is not rigid. The added stiffness of a carbon mast, exactly where it is needed, results in a substantially lower fatigue rate. Furling masts are by nature heavier than conventional masts, but a carbon furling mast from GMT can save thousands of pounds depending on the spar. Put simply, the more stable a yacht is, the less she will heel, pitch and roll. A carbon mast more efficiently transfers the force of the wind directly into boat speed. Whether you own a heavy displacement megayacht, traditional or modern cruiser, a classic yacht requiring a replacement spar in refit, or a round-the-world race boat, GMT has the experience and successful record you can rely on. Is a carbon mast hard to maintain? Termites and carpenter ants don't bother carbon. More stability effectively means more power on some points of sail; less pitching and rolling means less resistance to forward motion and also important for cruising less risk of seasickness and a more comfortable ride.