by K.C. Walker » Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:43 am
It's definitely an intriguing idea. At the time I was considering it, I had to replace my mast. I was looking at $600 + for the mast section from Dwyer. For a mere $600 + more, I could've had a carbon fiber mast. When a $300 used mast became available with all the hardware included, that ended the debate (no waiting and immediate sailing). I have little doubt that it would be nicer once it's all set up, with the present sail plan. That is, better control over what we already have. Also, with less weight and drag aloft the motion of the boat is more controlled. How much? Well… I would love to try it out and see.
I totally agree that the UPS more elegantly solves the light wind sail area situation.
It is rather amazing how little weight it takes to make a difference out on that long lever arm. Would it be enough difference to keep the boat from turning turtle? It would not add any flotation, I would think. It still is intriguing but until I have the need for a mast, I probably won't revisit that temptation.
One of the things that I found intriguing while talking to the guy at Forte was his thoughts on improved bend characteristics and being able to de-power the rig automatically. To get more improved bend characteristics out of my present aluminum mast, I've gone to a higher rig tension, the floating hinge plate (rear pin only), and the powerful boom vang. I'd be curious to know how much improvement in that area one would get with the carbon fiber. Especially, I would be interested to know if there's much difference once you start reefing. My suspicion is that there would not be much advantage at that point. That is, other than having the poll above the sail have less drag and be less weight. I would have to guess that most of the performance advantages are going to be at the edge of the performance envelope.
Once you've decided that your boat is not a race boat, and therefore the need to stay within class specifications is not a factor, these DaySailers are an excellent platform for playing with ideas. One certainly could not build as nice a hull for anywhere near what you can pick up a DaySailer for.
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002