I broke my mast today. It was a 2-piece 100% carbon 520 mast from Arrows - I broke the bottom half about 1 foot below the boom attachment.
I'm looking at options for replacing the mast and have some questions:
1. Can a snapped mast be repaired? If so, do they still offer good performance?
2. Can I use the good top half of my mast with another bottom half (ie if someone's broken the top half of their mast, I could buy their bottom half)?
3. I was using a Neil Pryde formula sail, which is designed for their X9 530 mast (ie I was not using the exact recommended mast for the sail) - NP X9 masts are expensive: is it worth trying a less expensive mast (but still 100% carbon 530), or should I bite the bullet and buy the Neil Pryde X9 530 (as recommended for the sail)?
1. no, 2. you could if you find the same base, otherwise you should not mix , all masts are different 3. what formula sail? RS5/6? will continue to snap masts, X9ultra included
1. no, 2. you could if you find the same base, otherwise you should not mix , all masts are different 3. what formula sail? RS5/6? will continue to snap masts, X9ultra included
Yagon, on Yves answer to no.3 i believe you could use the x6 now and if it's the latest '10 evo2 it's not so specific anymore any will do meaning x6 or x9 and they have the reduced the too 'strung' or very curved luff..not so sure tho
Option two would be the best but the probability of you being able to source a bottom half of a mast that works is low. Most of the time the bottom half is the half that breaks.
ive repaired plenty of masts for skiffs etc, you can get the bend pretty close with a bit of care. there is a lot of potential to save some money if you are that way inclined
plenty of guys use X6 masts in formula sails, myself included. An X6 550 is a bit stiffer in the bottom half & will put more shape in the sail. RS racing sails adopt to these masts fairly easily with the cam tension being adjusted with the batten tension. Earlier sails may need the cams filed back a bit. A 520 X6 also works well & wont give as much grunt, you could also use a mens RSX 520 mast. Rumour has it wind surf n snow (ph: 02 9971 0999) may be receiving some of the now discontinued X6 550 masts, they have a reasonably heavy bottom section & touch wood seem to be quite durable. I have seen a few guys experimenting with the new severne masts with good results.
As for repairing a snapped mast i have only seen this done once, it didnt survive its first rigging. I dont like your chances of finding the bottom section of a pryde formula mast for sale, they are as scarce as hens teeth
One other thing to consider is over the last couple of years NP have changed the width of their connection between the two halves. The newer ones are a quite close fit too. So unfortunately the same mast from differing years doesn't always fit. I have 4 left over tops and went to buy a used bottom half at the local shop, luckily I took the top half to check which ended up not fitting.
Most breaks are in the bottom half unfortunately. I only broke a top once when it bent on the sand in a shore break. First break that didn't bother me because I had lots of spare tops.
