Hi Bram,
I'm not suggesting for a moment that the lowers don't take a huge load. I have
also seen it for myself. My concern with the boats I saw in Florida was that
the load when sailing would allow more lateral movement of the mast in the
wrong direction which may make it harder for the tip to do its job as it would
be bowed the wrong way. I am suggesting that the addition of spreaders will
help lock the bottom of the mast in the position that you choose. I also accept
that the photo of Robert does show a straight bottom section.
I'm at the disadvantage in this discussion as my mast is sitting in pieces in
the garage and you have a mast on a functioning boat. It would be great to see
the 2 theories going head to head on the race track! That is really the only
way we can resolve the issue.
Cheers,
Steve
----- Original Message ----
From: "BDally6107@xxxxxxx" <BDally6107@xxxxxxx>
To: aussieswift@xxxxxxxxxxxx; jordan.afe@xxxxxxxxxxx; email.kerem@xxxxxxxxx;
swiftsolo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, 22 February, 2008 3:08:39 PM
Subject: Re: Forte or CST Mast - Verdict out yet?
Steve,
Great to hear from you. I trust that all is well?
I do have to take serious issue with you regarding the lowers. As a guy who's
sailed around with loos gauges attached to all of the stays on these rigs, I
can tell you that the lowers take more load than any of the other stays except
the caps when the kite is up. It is why we use 5/32 line instead of the 1/8"
we use everywhere else. It is true that when sitting on the shore with the
sails up, the lowers have little or no tension on them.
I've attached two pictures. The one of Robert shows how straight the mast is
athwartships and the second is of Ron Watt limping in with a broken lower. Ron
was lucky to have made it to shore without breaking that mast. I'll do my best
to actually go through the R&D process in a PDF to show how we ended up where
we did.
What are the chances of you making it over here next year with Jordan during
the 505 worlds? It would be great to sail with you again in your new boat.
Best regards,
Bram
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