Carbon fiber wing mast.

[quickcat49]

I'm doing a little research on wing masts, and would like to hear from anyone who's used them, or is using them. I'm concerned with the boat sailing at anchor, and with windage, for the rare time we're at the dock.

Kurt Hughes has plans for a 47cmx16cm wingmast (about 18"x6 inches) 18.5m tall. I find this mast a little long in the chord, or at least I worry about windage and sailing at anchor.

Gold Coast Yachts uses a 2:1 wingmast, which would be my preferrence, especially since it's resin infused, but they are hesitant to sell me plans.

I will be infusing the mast, just as I have done the boat, and now the carbon bow beam (sans striker).

So if you've used one of these masts on a cat, or have built one, it would be nice to hear from you.

Anecdotes and hearsay are not helpful, personal or second hand experience would be preferred.

Thanks for your time.
Paul.

[SteveH]

Very smart workshop you have there

[quickcat49]

Yes, thank you. As a bonus, in the warm months, it doubles as a dining room/entry into the house!
My real shop is not insulated, and terribly expensive to heat in the winter. But, since my wife is anxious to get back out on the water, she doesn't mind (much) when I infuse in the house.


Cheers.
Paul.

[Steel Sails]

We had very little problem with cheorae riding at anchor.
we usually left the mast to weathercock. If we had a hard blow we rotated the mast 45 deg to the wind on one side and locked it
Our mast is 20m the area in 9.0 m. I may have a sketch of the chord. I'll check.
regards
Paul

[quickcat49]

Thanks Paul.

That's good information. Can you tell my why you rotate the mast during a blow? Is that to create drag and eliminate lift, to stop the boat sailing? If so, how much would the boat sail at anchor, during a blow, without rotating the mast to 45 degrees?

Your mast is the same height as mine, and the same area as well. I'd guess your chord must be about 18 inches, as is mine.

Would you mind commenting on any downsides of a wing mast, as compared to a fixed mast?

Thanks again for responding to this thread.

Cheers.
Paul.

[quickcat49]

Any other comments by experienced wing mast users?

[gramos]

Very smart wife you have there !

Yes, thank you. As a bonus, in the warm months, it doubles as a dining room/entry into the house!
My real shop is not insulated, and terribly expensive to heat in the winter. But, since my wife is anxious to get back out on the water, she doesn't mind (much) when I infuse in the house.


Cheers.
Paul.

[quickcat49]

Yes, she is very smart; and even so, she married me. 'Tis a mystery.

[quickcat49]

Still looking for first hand information, regarding wingmasts on Cats...

[peter-lillywhite]

Still looking for first hand information, regarding wingmasts on Cats...

I sail an Azuli, 39' x 5 ton cat with a rotating aluminium 14.9m mast that although not a wing has a 305mm chord. I anchor frequently, always with a bridle and have experienced no problems with the mast locked amidships, I wouldn't like to leave it weather-cocking as in strong winds I would expect wear or damage. When mooring in harbour in strong winds I sometimes rotate the mast to avoid lift as this could be unpredictable. A big plus for a rotating mast is the easier reefing especially downwind. I always have the mast rotated when raising or lowering the main for the same reason, indeed when I forget it usually ends up jamming on the rigging or lazyjacks.

Hpe this helps'

Peter.

[quickcat49]

Thank you Peter, every bit of information helps. It's difficult to get a feel for this kind of thing, without actually having any experience. I want to know what I'm getting into, before committing to building one.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Adler23]

I understand the problems that it would create for racing, but not everyone cares about racing. I also understand that they’d be more expensive, but carbon fiber spars now proliferate all sailing sub-genres. I also understand that it may not be practical to redesign an existing boat’s rig, but why don’t we see these on more new designs?

[Adler23]

I understand the problems that it would create for racing, but not everyone cares about racing. I also understand that they’d be more expensive, but carbon fiber spars now proliferate all sailing sub-genres. I also understand that it may not be practical to redesign an existing boat’s rig, but why don’t we see these on more new designs?

[Steel Sails]

Main reason I see is expense. Fibre rigging. Compensation for the wind instruments. We use hydra 5000 system. It's not cheap.
22 m carbon mast and boom not a lot of change out of 200k USD