i helped a british lad separate a two piece mast that was full of sand, to my surprise it was really really light but took the conventional size universal and was the standard diameter are these now common in australia and if so how much cash are we talking about.

you see as i get older i find it is easier to put my board on a diet rather than for myself to loose weight


regards ken

P.C_simpson said...

100% carbons around $700 to $1,000. for a 460 mast..

so a 430 might be a bit cheaper
and as far as the second hand variety goes do people just sail with them until they break or is there a bit of a 2nd hand market?

cheers man

ken

are these now common in australia

Yes. Some years ago North intoduced a super hi spec mast "the platinum series" where they used about 10 tons of pressure to sweeze most of the resin out resulting in very light masts. They were also very expensive.

Most masts are made in Italy (by Triana etc) to different windsurfing company specs depending on when they see themselves in the market and these masts have different bend curves to match their repective sails but the manufacturer is the same.

I believe the pressure is now up to 20 tons and several brands market these super light masts. The standard diametre masts (SDM) are lighter because they need less material for the same stiffness than a RDM. But having thinner walls they are more fragile than the thicker walled reduced diametre masts. Resistance to knocks is the issue not strength.

Reptile Mamba 100...430 SDM 100%Carbon @ 1.38 Kg ?
Severne Red Line.... 430 SDM 100%Carbon @ 1.35 Kg $1029
North Platinum........ 430 SDM 100%Carbon @ 1.70 Kg ?
Tushingham Pro.......430 SDM 100%Carbon @ 1.50 Kg ?
Gun Select............. 430 ndm 100%Carbon @ 1.48 Kg $697 24 month warranty

The Gun is an internet sail price (no shop front..reduced overheads)

The Severne and Tushy appear to be similar masts but the tushy has extra reinforcing on the bottom section (hence the extra weight) "the base has been strengthened ... with additional woven reinforcements" to fit their market position whilst the Severne as their top spec race mast obviously feel minimum weight is the top priorty.

Because of the high price and uncertain history of 2nd hand masts it is often difficult to sell the top end masts for anything like what they cost new. Occassionally europeans who don't want to lug all their kit back to europe (where they may have new free/sponsored stuff waiting) will often offload top notch stuff at bargain prices.

As Gestalt eludes to you have to consider what you really want the mast for. If you're after the absolute ultimate, no compromise mast then pony up for one of the superlight masts. However imo they are not really necessary and are simply not worth the price premium they attract, particularly once you factor in the durability. Unless you're racing in the PWA I don't think most of us can justify it.

Also you'd want to consider if the mast if for slalom or waves/freestyle/blasting. If its the latter you can't go past RDM, i'd go so far as to say a lot of race sails that rig on a 430 masts are also these days geared towards RDMs.

Sailhack said...

choco said...

Better off buying new they come with depending on the brand 6,12or24 month warranty.

Agreed, if you can afford it, but I reckon I did well through buy/n/sell!

2nd hand X9 460 mast, and pre-loved (well used) RS1 6.5m sail, both for $400.00. Had them both out a couple of days ago, I reckon I got my money's worth in one session.....might need to last a little longer to keep the 'minister for war and finance' happy though!

Agreed. I purchased a Neil Pryde 100% 460 mast with an RX2 6.5 sail and a carbon boom for $549 on a well known Internet auction site. They work beautifully together and so far so good.

hey make this the main concern if your going to buy one, don't go hey GUN sails make the cheapest so i will buy that one. Buy the mast made for your sails, pretty much all sails are designed around one certain style of mast, the sail companys will get a mast they like and start from there e.g Neil Pryde sails where designed to go on there masts, you can get different brand masts with all the same spec. could even be made in the same factory but there not all the same, all have different flex points etc, etc. it's not the sail makers trying to get you to use only there gear, they just get the masts they want for there sails made for them only. it would be a bad move for the factory to make cheaper versions of Pryde Masts, because they would not fit a large range of sails, so they compromise, making them almost fit a range of brands, some come dam close and can be fine.

the best thing is to either buy that mast they built the sail on or if you can try a variety of mast rigged with that sail and pick the best one.

most shops will let you rig the sail on the mast for a test, it gives them great feed back to what masts work well on what sails..