Mast Current Marine offer three mast options: Fixed aluminium plus fixed or rotating carbon fibre. They build their carbon masts in-house, which is rare and undoubtedly explains why we detected quiet “encouragement” by Julian to make the right choice!
Nevertheless, we thought long and hard about this decision. The advantages of cleaner wind-flow over the mainsail and reduced pitching from less weight aloft are real… but do they justify the cost of a carbon mast? CM’s upgrade cost is a bit less than some brands, but it’s still significant in our terms.
After much deliberation, we decided we would go for a rotating carbon mast – although maybe not for the reasons you’d expect. We chose this option mainly because it makes downwind reefing possible – and because the more efficient the rig, the smaller and more easily handled the sails can be. Factor in the reduction in pitching and a rotating carbon mast should make a noticeable difference to comfort and safety.
That said, I think this is somewhere you could compromise and, with an alloy mast, this boat would still outperform most.
Shrouds We’ve chosen Dynex Dux textile shrouds because they’re well under half the weight of stainless steel. In fact, if we’d chosen an alloy mast, I’d have opted for these shrouds anyway to gain a chunk of the weight saving without the full carbon spar cost.
Reefing from the cockpit There’s a significant downside to a rotating mast that we’re going to tackle. Halyards and reefing lines have to be locked-off on the spars, which normally means going forward to reef. To overcome this downside, we’re going to use constrictors instead of clutches because they can be mounted on the spars with their tails and release lines led back to the cockpit for remote operation. CM have suggested reef hooks on the leech reefing lines because once the line is pulled down and they’re “set” no other jamming is required – and they can also be remotely released. Reef hooks also largely eliminate the usual problem of line chafe.
CM are keen to work on the remote reefing set-up to get the spar design, lead angles and deck blocks aligned correctly. If successful, we’ll have the best of both worlds – the ease of reefing downwind of a rotating mast and the ability to do it from the cockpit.
Boom Having chosen the carbon mast we decided on CM’s carbon Y boom to match. The boom lends itself to a custom fit-out to make our reefing line system work – and the stack-pack can neatly attach to the outer edges to widen it and collect the mainsail effectively.
Three headsails on furlers We’ve chosen this set-up because we reckon there are big advantages for our style of cruising. We’ll have a code sail, a Solent and a staysail – all able to be furled from the cockpit. They’ll facilitate a comfortable and safe configuration in building breeze (easy to change down) – and also help us maximise progress (easy to change back up).
Staysail I really don’t like partially rolled headsails – their shape gets deeper, just when you want it flatter – they lose pointing ability – the C of E goes forward and unbalances the boat – increased separation from the mainsail loses upwind efficiency… and they look shocking! So, after experiencing just how much better the Pogo was (with a staysail) compared to our previous yachts (without), a staysail was high on our must-have list. On a cat, this means you need a solid longeron to give a tack point aft of the forestay, so this was an important factor in our boat choice.
The Pogo had a removable Dyneema stay with a hanked on staysail. It was simple and reliable, but it did mean going forward to get the sail ready to hoist and I wasn’t happy when the sail flogged while hoisting. So, for the new boat we’ve specified a staysail with a torsion cable and continuous line furler, allowing it to be stored and hoisted furled, ready for use. Luff tension will be applied by a 3:1 purchase at the tack and it will sheet to a self-tacking track on the cabin top. In light wind, short tacking situations we’ll be able to drop the furled staysail onto the tramp to open up the foretriangle and make it easy to tack the Solent.
Sail Choice See separate later post.
