Mast Carbon Content

[<newbie>]

Hi, anyone knows whats the disadvantage of using a mast of lower content than the recommended mast(for eg, using Fiberspar R3200 instead of R4800). I know the weight factor is there as well as slower flex response. But i am light at 63kg and will be using it for recreational purposes. Does the performance gain warrants me to pay more for a R4800 mast?

[sukhdev]

The disadvantage of using a lower carbon content mast relate to (1) heavier weight (2) lower reflex response.

Reflex response is the speed with which the mast recovers from a load beyond its "steady state". Think of a mast bent using downhaul as a spring. Each gust that hits, the bounce caused by going over chop, pumping, sheeting in...all these load the mast and cause it to bend away and spring back. Higher carbon content masts do this faster, thus you get a livelier feel with better handling and better accelaration in gusts. This also explains why downhaul is so critical, the more you downhaul correctly the more "spring" you are loading into the mast.

Generally for recreational sailing you would be ok with a lower carbon content mast.

Having said that...we found that for Powerex the 100% carbon is so durable and has much better performance & only a slightly higher  in price that we carry mostly the 100% carbon. This is not universally true as some brands have been prone to more breakage than others for the 100% carbon models.

Weight difference often doesnt sound like much but remember that rig weight is actually swing weight, its not a static weight. A lighter rig is much easier to trim while sailing and feels much better in transitions.

[<newbie>]

Thanks. Think I will try to experiment with mast of different carbon content to see if i can live with the low carbon content.