The boat that I sail on has a very old mast. We have re rigged it with new wires and have played with the set up of the mast and still find that it falls away at the top to much.
We are looking and thinking of getting a new mast for the boat.
Now the boat is a Mk 2 swing keel.
I have priced up a new Gold Spar mast ( RL Skiff Rig ) and it is $2200 ex Sydney for the section. Now I have been look around for other options and have found a carbon fibre section that will cost around the same landed to use as the gold spar section. The carbon fibre section is from NZ and with the great $$$$$ exchange rate it is looking a good option.
Now the rules say we can play with the boats and change most things on them. Is going a carbon fibre rig going to far ?
I don't see any problem if it works out to be about the same price. Driving up the cost of being competitive would be a different matter.
I've been curious about carbon for a while. My only concerns are longevity from UV damage and getting the stick to match the sail. If you go ahead, I'll be keen to see how it goes.
Is anyone else using carbon yet?
Have you looked through or sailed on any of the Mk4s with skiff rigs? It would be wise to go for a sail on one of the more competitive yachts and see how the rig works before committing to the expense of the new rig.
The second hand 16 foot skiff rigs are a good alternative to a new rig, the mast and sails all convert across with ease.
With the money saved you could buy one of the moulded mainsails. If you were buying a carbon mast, the moulded sail would need to be considered.
So you know, I've sailed RL's off and on for 20 years and I'm a shipwright and have sailed Mk4's as well.
I've looked at the 16 ft skiff rigs and think that they are not a option for us. If you think about it, By the time I land the rig and change it and our sails to suit it will cost not that much less than putting a new mast on the boat.
The trouble that I have with our old mast is the top falls off to much going down wind. I spent a hour last week with our local spar maker talking to him about what to do and at the end of the day he said "keep the old one or get a new rig".
I do under stand about "driving up the cost of being competitive". The only reason that I'm looking at carbon is the price from NZ is about the same as a Aluminium mast made in Oz.
The thing with carbon is you need to paint the mast with a UV paint of some type. As for the "stick to match the sail" We would be looking at a new sail any way if we get the mast.
As for "any one else using carbon yet" Not that I know of in the Standard class RL racing. I do have many mate's telling me how good the carbon masts are on other classes of boats
