Carbon or Aluminium Mast ?

[niel12]

There's a whole lot of good reasons why one should use a carbon mast i just wonder what the downside is? or is it all the way!

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by niel12

There's a whole lot of good reasons why one should use a carbon mast i just wonder what the downside is?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[s/v Jedi]

Cost and potential lightning damage. I am also wary for UV damage although I never heard of a case.

cheers,
Nick.

[Dragon Lady]

Carbon fibre has very little impact resistance, it can crack and be undectable to the human eye. If an aircraft carbon fibre component recieves and impact it must be tested to check for cracking.
Carbon rigs have almost instananious reponse to wind gusts so are great in a race boat but I'm not sure you want that in a cruiser.
Metal fittings will also corrode when put in contact with carbon fibre.
To get the most out of carbon fibre it must be cooked at high pressures and temperatures in an autoclave which costs even more dollars.
Carbon fibre use is growing especially in the aerospace industry where it's high strenghth to weight ratio is highly benificial.
As for UV damage from the sun I have never seen carbon fibre components that are unpainted on external surfaces of aircraft, but you see it all the time on boats.
Also due to the high demand in the areospace industry any carbon fibre used in marine or automotive aplications is almost certainly reject or time expired aerospace stock.
So it’s good stuff if you can afford it.
I hope that answers some of your question.

[Randyonr3]

there are a good number of carbon fiber masts in production on boats, both race and cruise.. a good look as you walk throu a marina will often show a "unstayed mast.. chances are, its carbon fiber.. saw an older ketch a while with unstayed carbon masts.. and most Cat Boats have Carbon fiber masts..
They have been around a good number of years but often undetectable due to being painted.. a friend of ours has one on his boat and swears buy it.. unlike an aluminium stayed mast, the unstayed carbon mast will "unload" in an unforseen blow, saving the boat from a "knock-down" the tapered top will bend out and dump the unwanted air where an aluminium stayed mast will not..

[maxingout]

I would not have it on a cruising boat because of lightning strkes. When I was in Singapore, five yachts were struck with lightning within a single week. I would hate being in a thunderstorm worrying about my mast being vaporized by a lightning strike.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by maxingout

I would not have it on a cruising boat because of lightning strkes. When I was in Singapore, five yachts were struck with lightning within a single week. I would hate being in a thunderstorm worrying about my mast being vaporized by a lightning strike.

Were you saying they all had carbon masts???

[ozskipper]

I dont think the cost vs benefit weighs up for a cruising boat. Unless you're going to add high performance sails to the equation (added cost compared to good old dacron). Then whats next? Cutting the toothbrushes in half to save weight? lol.

Cruisers carry so much extra weight that weight saving for the sake of carbon would only make a very very very slight difference to performance imho. Those extra dollars spent getting a point of percent extra speed could be much better used on other toys.

Obviously,as other people mentioned, it may fall off a bit earlier in a puff, but that is about the only real benefit I can see for a cruiser.

((I would spend the money on beer, good times and women-then waste the rest ;-) ))

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Were you saying they all had carbon masts???

They did not have carbon masts, and the masts survived of course. My point was that FIVE MASTS WERE STRUCK WITHIN 1 WEEK in our small cluster of cruising yachts heading north through the Malacca Straits at the beginning of monsoon. If those masts had been carbon fiber, the masts would likely have been history, and the cruisers would have had a real problem replacing the masts. Cruising season would be over for them unless they planned to push on in power boat mode using only their engine. I have known of 2 yachts with carbon fiber masts in which the masts were destroyed by lightning. I would not want to be cruising in the massive thunderstorms of the monsoon with a carbon fiber mast.

[wolfenzee]

I am quite happy wth my wood mast 47' cambered and taper, 3piece laminated Sitka spruce. Strong and flexible also eliminates electrolysis problems with rigging. Not to mention less of a lightning rod.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I am quite happy wth my wood mast 47' cambered and taper, 3piece laminated Sitka spruce. Strong and flexible also eliminates electrolysis problems with rigging. Not to mention less of a lightning rod.

Have you ever seen a wooden mast hit by lightning? Pray you're not around when it happens, because it is violent and dangerous. Wooden masts can use a lightning rod more than an alumunium mast. There is no statistic showing that wooden masts are skipped by lightning more often than other masts.

cheers,
Nick.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Have you ever seen a wooden mast hit by lightning? Pray you're not around when it happens, because it is violent and dangerous. Wooden masts can use a lightning rod more than an alumunium mast. There is no statistic showing that wooden masts are skipped by lightning more often than other masts.

cheers,
Nick.

Yep! trees hit by lightning - Google Search

[pbr]

Carbon saves about 1/3 of the weight which can reduce pitch and roll in a cruising boat. In my experience, carbon masts dont seem as susceptable to lightining hits as aluminum. I have over a dozen on boats I have rigged and over twenty years never heard of one being hit.

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Yep! trees hit by lightning - Google Search

I never wen masts were impervious to lightning....just metal conducts electricity better. Regardless of that point I prefer the materiel for a mast

[MacG]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Cost and potential lightning damage. I am also wary for UV damage although I never heard of a case.

cheers,
Nick.

Vraag het Jan Jongert! No good!

Carbon has a tendency to give in on that particular moment that you could not calculate. Some masts work for years others break down at first sail.
Carbon has no tell-tales. It brakes and when it can leave bad marks. On you and your ship alike. They are light and stiff. It is the stiffness that attract the racers. Next to that, a carbon mast needs to have a special environment to make. The curing process as well as the matrix materials are utterly important. It seldom pays, save for yachts like Mirabella. Or TP/52' s and boardracers. For a regular boat it is not needed.