Christian,
Somehow, my computer automatically sent that last email after typing one
word--sorry.
I had not heard of this Forte mast that you had trouble with. Lets get it
back to Forte and either get your money back or get a replacement tube. The
only way we have to keep suppliers on the right track is to force them to
correct their mistakes. Be assured, from what you've said, they owe you a new
mast tube and we can force that to happen. It is not acceptable for the tube
to
weigh more than 9 lbs or for the carbon to be placed as you described. We
do a significant volume of business with them and need to know when this kind
of thing happens.
Bram
In a message dated 2/20/2008 6:28:45 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
swiftsolo@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Hi Kerem,
I have used both masts. The reason I went for CST, is that the Fortes have
some quality problems. I have one which weighs a ton, and another
that broke after only 5-6 times on the water (bought less than a year ago).
When it broke I could see that the wall thickness was twice the thickness on
one side than the other. So I think the Forte guys still have some work to
do, to come up with a process to make a consistent product. You'll pay more
with the CST, but you might end up paying twice with Forte. Also the
spreader system CST sells is much nicer and more adjustable than any you can
make yourself.
I've used the double spreader system on both the Forte and the CST mast.
(really has notthing to do with the mast) but basically there is a 11 foot
gap between the lowers and the top set of spreaders with the setup from the
current rigging guide.
I noticed that this section tends to bend out, preventing the top section
from doing as much gust response as it could. Adding the set
of lower spreaders keeps the mast side bend straighter and allows better
control of the top
section using the uppers. Obviously there are times where this matters more
than others. (gusty vs not gusty)
The other thing that I think is worth considering is to not use synthetic
line as the shrouds. The lightning and ultrex is just way to stretchy
and I think the rig feels "wishywashy." I think that probably makes a
bigger difference than the double spreaders. Initially I had just my
primaries/forestay made from dyform. (wire) and the boat just felt a lot more
"precise"
in its handling. If you do decide to use synthetic
you should increase the the diameter and go for vectran which has less
stretch.
Then again these tuning things tend to be only a minor part of doing well in
races. It still comes down to picking the right lanes/sides and
making fewer mistakes than your opponents and having no break downs with
your boat.
Christian
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