hi guys. i dont know what happend the first time i tried this. so lets do it again.
my 2 IOM have a 1/2 mast. and i was just thinking that maybe i could go one size smaller. i know i give up stregnth. but with the shrouds i get the strenght that way. and i get stregnth from the forestays. and back stays. with the smaller mast . i would save on wieght. and be able to better adjust the mast bend. what do you think. and what do you use?
cougar
Hi Cougar,
Firstly i have to ask whether you have a deck or keel stepped mast?
Of the majority of boats at the recent Worlds here in Aus, it was very rare to see a 1/2 in dia mast used.
Popular choices were either the 11mm Sails etc round section or the 10.8mm high tensile section used by a lot of us down here. The sails etc tubing does require a little more forward pre-bend than the 10.8, but both are plenty stiff enough with correct sidestay & spreader placement combined with enough rig sidestay tension.
Interesting to throw into the mix that Craig Smith won with using 11mm Groovy masts, though to be honest, there was not an ounce of difference in speed of the top group of boats & the final results did come down to the skippers in control.
Cheers
BG AUS 42
Hi Cougar
You will need to insert pre-bend into your masts if you do this. Non-trivial! If you race your IOMs with some hope of doing well, OK, this is worth trying. Otherwise, I’d strongly suggest staying with 1/2" tube.
thanks lester
i am looking to do both right now. I am going to be building kite at xmas. and this will be the boat i race. but also i am thinking of changing the mast of my other IOMs
so just thinking what i need
cougar