Windsurfing 1.01 - Masts #1

What is a windsurfing mast for and why should I care about carbon content and stiffness?

Good question!

Without knowing what the mast does how can we make sure we get the right one? The mast provides a sail with three things; shape, response time and flexibility.

Changing any one of these elements makes for a drastically different feel on the water. So let’s get right to the bottom line and de-mystify THE MAST!It Keeps the Sail in ShapeWhen properly rigged, each sail has a shape at which it performs best, and if the wind constant and the water mirror flat, the sail would never deviate from this shape. Unfortunately, gusts and lulls change the shape of the sail and the water surface kicks the board around, making the rig constantly move and change.

The best masts will keep the sail in the right shape for the greatest length of time. The sail may distort radically as a gust tries to turn the rig, board and sailor downside up, but when the gust has passed the sail must be returned to its 'right' shape as quickly and painlessly as possible - the faster the mast gets the sail back into this position the better it will feel. This is why carbon was introduced on the market and made the older fiberglass masts go the way of the dodo.

So in general the higher the carbon content of a mast the faster it returns the sail to its original position.

Response Time:

Since sails are not totally rigid and are designed to move in a certain predictable way, they therefore depend on the consistent performance of the mast. A sail designed to twist briefly and then return to shape needs a mast that does the same. Put the sail on the 'wrong' mast and it can feel loose, sloppy and uncontrollable. Mast and sail have to match. There are two measures of stability; how easily does a mast bend and how quickly does it unbend. The ease of bending is measured on the IMCS/MSC system. The speed with which it unbends is largely controlled by the carbon content.

Flexibility:

The right amount of bend and fast response is important, but masts must also bend in the right place. Nowadays, sail designs are generally based on masts having the same graduation of stiffness characteristics along the whole length; the 'constant curve' format. The mast needs to be consistent to ensure a predictable and controllable change of shape.