Windsurfing 1.01 - Mast #2

Windsurfing Mast Carbon Content:

Masts are available in different percentages of carbon ranging from 15% carbon to 100% carbon. No mast is truly 100% carbon, as it contains fibers (carbon, fiberglass or Kevlar) mixed with resin to bond it all together. As a general rule, the higher the carbon content, the lighter the mast will be and the quicker it will respond to return the sail to its optimum position.

So which one do you choose? Good question. In our opinion, a beginner should generally look into either a 30% or a 50% carbon content mast depending on your sail size, your budget and your long term goals. Let’s look at things a little more into detail as this can be a slightly long winded answer.

Epoxy Masts: Many beginner packages are offered with a fairly cheap epoxy mast. If at all possible you should avoid these. They are heavy and not responsive and not what 99.9% of intermediate windsurfers are using to get the most out of their gear.

10-15% Carbon: Many beginner packages are also offered with these masts. But once again, they are pretty sloppy in terms of performance and not considered a long term investment. Generally as the individual improves they will quickly see the need to upgrade the mast to a more performant mast. They offer little noticeable improvement over an epoxy mast.

Now is the time that you have to think about what your long term goals are:

30-35% Carbon: These masts are good on budget and offer more bang for your buck than the first two options. However, your ultimate decision will be made from there.Let us presume that you have a 6.5m sail.

a) If you plan on eventually purchasing a smaller sail to match up with your 6.5m, then a 30% mast will do you just fine.

b) If you plan on eventually purchasing a bigger sail to match up with your 6.5m, then we would personally recommend a 50-55% carbon mast.

Here is why:

50-55% Carbon: Now is where we start to discuss performance in a mast. A 50-55% carbon mast is still reasonable on your budget, but offers better shape, response time and flexibility and lighter weight. This means that your sail will perform more in the way that it was designed to.

In the previous section, we said that it was important to think about your long term goals. This is because as your sail size increases, the importance of reaction time of the mast increases as well. We consider this carbon content mast a middle of the road type of mast, sort of like all-season tires, if you will.

It does everything in most conditions pretty well for the cost; which brings us to:

75% Carbon: You will notice significant differences in the performance of your rig with this carbon content. It gives your rig a lighter feel and decreases the reaction time to make the rig work more efficiently allowing the sailor to sail longer, and maneuver a little easier (depending on your level of expertise).

But are these differences enough to justify the extra money? In our opinion, it is worth the extra money if the extra few hundred dollars won’t break the bank and if your long term goals justify the expense. The positive aspects of this percentage of carbon are really much more noticeable on bigger sails, so if you are planning on going bigger than 6.5, then this would be the percentage to get.

100% Carbon: We don’t want to go into too much detail about 100% carbon masts as it concerns only a select few sailors who want to eek out that last little bit of performance and weight reduction from their rig. Although they are super-light masts and perform very well, they are pricy and not considered necessary for the beginner to intermediate sailor who is just learning the ropes.

Here is a visual description of what we mean by flexibility and sail shape.

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.

Windsurfing 1.01- Wind #2

How a WIndsurf Sail Works in the Wind:

1- When the wind blows on a correctly trimmed sail the air flow separates and passes on either side of the sail.

2- On the leeward side, the wind is accelerated by the built-in curve of the sail. This results in an area of low-pressure

3- On the Windward side. An area of high-pressure is created, thus creating an imbalance in air pressure.

4- This difference in air pressure actually pulls the sail into the wind.

Why we need Different Sail Sizes

Depending on where you are sailing, how much you weigh and what type of board(s) that you own, the sail type and size will vary. For now we’ll make suggestions with the assumption that you are a male of average weight (77gk – 170 lbs) possessing a “bring it on” learner who wants to progress quickly within the Montreal area.

A good all-round sail size to begin with for this weight and attitude will be between 6.5-7.5m to begin with. Now, as the wind increases it creates too much power and pull for the sail to be in control. The point at which this happens is very much dependant on your own bodyweight and strength.

A heavier and/or stronger sailor can hold bigger sails in stronger winds using their weight, strength and harness to balance themselves against the force of the wind.However, all windsurfers will eventually have to change down to a smaller sail as the winds increase in strength. So, different sail sizes exist for different conditions and wind ranges just like boards.

Windsurfing 1.01 - Wind #1

How the Wind Works:

Basically, wind is a direct result of horizontal differences in air pressure. Air flows from areas of high pressure to low pressure.

For instance, we are sure that you have experienced opening a can of coffee that has been vacuum packed. The noise that you hear (a pop-pssst type of sound) is caused by air rushing from the area of higher pressure from inside the can to the area of lower pressure outside the can.

Obviously, there is more to wind than that but it gives you a basic idea of pressure differences. These pressure differences are a very important factor when it comes to how a sail actually works in the wind.

Wind Directions:

Sideshore winds - usually ideal - The wind blowing sideshore (from left to right or right to left across the launch area) is the ideal orientation for most forms of

windsurfing and it's normally fairly easy to get back to where you started from (as long as you know how to turn around!).

Onshore Winds - not always ideal Light onshore winds are usually OK for beginners, as they allow you to sail parallel to the shoreline in fairly shallow water. In coastal areas, if the wind isn't too strong then there shouldn't be much shorebreak surf, but stronger onshore winds will rapidly build up waves.

Offshore Winds - not good! - An offshore wind is generally gusty and fluky close inshore, and gets progressively stronger the further out you go. So the principle danger is being blown away from the shore, and then not able to get back. This is particularly pertinent for the beginner, who will find it all getting more and more difficult, and thus spend more and more time in the water, getting blown where they don't want to go at an ever increasing speed.

Obviously, offshore winds are not so much of an issue on inland waters - the worst that can happen is that you get blown to the other side of the lake/reservoir. Still, even inland it's an unnerving and inconvenient experience, and as far as the beginner is concerned offshore winds are to be avoided at all costs.

Windsurfing 1.01-Sails #3

Different Types of Windsurfing Sails:

Wave: You may be saying to yourself “Wave sail, I don’t need no stinking wave sail, I live in Montreal!” However, the qualities of a good wave sail – good wind range, easy maneuverability, stability and durability – are the requirements of pretty much all higher-wind sailors.

In high-wind conditions, nobody is particularly worried about maximum power, acceleration or speed because it’s windy and there is enough power for everybody out there.

The power issue is definitely one of the most significant areas of difference between sail types. Some sails feel more powerful than others – but this doesn’t mean that you are going to go faster. But for many, a feeling of power is a positive or a desirable point, particularly if that sailor is a heavy-weight. Whereas lighter / less strong sailors will often prefer a more subtle approach of a lighter, less powerful sail.

Here are the three different types of sails that you are generally looking at when it comes to high-wind wave sails.

Wave (Onshore): This sail has a lot of power, it is directionally stable, it accelerates quickly and is more of a freeride/wave sail. It goes well in a straight line and you can pop jumps with it when you want to.

Wave (Offshore): These have a little less power with a shorter boom, they are very loose and directional stability is not as much of an issue. This is a sail that you want to play with. It is made to be maneuverable in the waves or high winds.

Wave (Sideshore): These sails are strictly made for pure maneuvering and wave sailing. It is a quirky sail that is made to be a little less directionally stable than its other wave-oriented counterparts.