dad has a north 520 race mast for a 9m warp. yesterday after derigging we found it was bent at the ferrule. what can be done about this?

well the plastic around the ferrule has cracked. i dont suppose that is normal?

its not the ferrule itself. north masts have plastic around the ferrule which has cracked. i cant tell what else has happened under it.

mathew said...


google is your friend - lookup 'windsurfing "bent mast"'

I've gained my knowledge in windsurfing from experience over the past 25 years. My own windsurfing, teaching the sport, retailing the products and manufacturing... not from 'googling'.
The problem with googling to find answers to your problems is that anyone can put information on the web, wether they have experience or not.
When we used to use 1 peice 100% polyester (fibreglass) masts, they would over time maintain a slight curve. Carbon masts, particularly race masts (with a high carbon content) do not have this problem.
You're not an "ambassador" for that brand of sails you're on are you Matthew?

I have a North 460, carbon 60 mast which has had a slight bend for some time. I haven't really worried about it as I concluded as stated previously that it was due to warm weather conditions maintaining a bit of memory

In my years of windsurfing I've seen quite a lot of bent masts. Only in 100% carbon race masts however.

I'd mainly blame it on the high downhaul loads and warm weather down this way. Usually, if you pull a mast out at the end of the day its a little bent (its always at the ferrule, if it were anywhere else on the mast I would never use it again!) then take it home, put it in the cool garage and when you go sailing next time and the mast has cooled down you'll notice the bend won't be as pronounced.

For the guys who sail a lot, we used to rotate the masts everyday we sailed them so that you wouldn't be bending them in the same direction everytime you rigged the sail.

The best thing to combat this is keep your rigged sail in the shade even if you're just on the beach for 2 mins changing a fin. The hot sun really plays a roll in your mast pre-bending ;)

One day they'll make masts out of double-bias carbon. They'll cost $3000 but you'll be able to keep your mast for 23 years.

agree with mrlove - some masts get an even bend in them along their entire length after being rigged for a whole day and left in hot sun. in most cases it's nothing to worry about.

some fiberspar quicktip masts developed cracks near the ferrule running around the mast on the bottom half of the mast, even after only a week of use. This too seems common and the mast will still last the average sailor at least another season. I've had two that did this within a week of purchase and they lasted nearly 3 years

but if your concerned about it and the mast is under warranty, like the others said, take it back

Lets cut the rubbish as i understand it.

Masts are made out of carbon fibres held together by resin.
if u leave a mast under tension in the sun the resin softens and the carbon fibres creap. leaving your mast bent. This is common and normal. Many masts straighten themselves out over time. hence the reason for the bags
It happens with the 100% carbon masts more mainly because of the increase in tension applied to them and the lower amount of resin in them.


What I believe Al is talking about is a crack in the aluminuim ferule. This is usually a vertical crack. (am i correct.)
This is not normal. This happens due to corrosion and the way that the ferule tapers out wards. As tension is applied, the aluminium ferule is stretched leading to this crack. It will only worsen over time.


Help this helps

Chad

i lubed ferals on all my masts today marked with a line down the join then downhauled, both top and bottom sections moved so mast do have a back bone , concusion keep ferals clean

I rest my case!