Carbon Fibre Dinghy Mast

[CuriousChris]

Originally Posted by messabout

If you use a lug rig, the mast can be really crude without a problem. Something as sophisticated as a CF mast paired with a lug sail is like making a silk purse out of a sows ear.

One of the factors that favor lug rigs is that you can get a lot of sail on short spars. They can also be easy to reef and easy to douse. When reefed there is but small change in helm. Old time fishermen would furl the sail around the yard and hoist the bundle above the deck so that they had unobstructed space to do their work. Within the list of disadvantages, ... their tendency to oscillate on dead downwind runs. The oscillations have a quaint name; death roll. Many peak sprit type sails have the same malady.

Fair winds

I know that a carbon fiber mast is way overkill but I admit freely that I'm playing and exploring a new for me material. The sail I currently have is a sprit with a boom so the bend of the mast makes a difference.

I am also not getting any stronger and I would welcome a lighter mast.

I have a couple of spars being made now for the balanced lug and as you say weight is a problem. If I can't get that sorted out I might make another carbon fiber spar for the top and use my lighter wood one for the bottom. Problem is I used the birds mouth method to make the blanks but the wood I used (douglas fir) is much heavier than the pine I had used to made my first mast out of and the weight of the blank was quite a surprise. I'm currently planing and sanding the spars down to see if I can reach the proper balance.

At least it keeps me thinking of boats and dreaming.

The "death roll" you talk about is also seen in sprit sails and I've had to deal with it a couple of times. Not much fun the first time!

Chris