So.. Laserati, shall we talk C5?

I still use a wooden mast and boom, last year I used it more than half the time

Originally posted by Cirrus GRFi So why not just get into a class that ALREADY uses carbon sticks !! Nothing too complex about it surely  ? It is you choosing to buy into a class that does not use them after all is said and done ...that is the issue here.  Plenty of variety out there already ... just sail something closer to what you (really) want.  'They' will not change didly squat just because you, as a single individual, want something or other ... unless you buy 50 or a 100+  or 500+ of course when they might just look at the opportunity.    It is simply a commercial decision and not a lot to do with 'Bullsh*t Baffles Brains' at all.  If is looked likely to make proper money for a real bulder/supplier  ... you would have it already !! Surely it is simply delusion to think anything much else  ? ......

It is precisely because I have entered a class that uses carbon and when I discovered just how much of what I paid went towards that carbon mast which was over two grand for what is a very basic product made by probably the poorest company, Superspars I realised just how much I've been ripped off - violated in fact.

This Boat is my greatest enjoyment to date, something I'd love to see other folk share, but at this price I couldn't bring myself to even recommend it. Now it's rig dimensions are not very different to the Solution, which in turn isn't that great a difference from a Solo i.e they support a sail of around 8.5 sq mrs in fact many dinghy operate around that 8.5-9.0 mtr sail area requirement which can be perfectly supported by a 6 mtr mast. So why are they so stupidly expensive when a commercial company can profit by making carbon tubes 60 dia and 6.00 long for £350 here in the UK, not even offshore. When I saw you once, you were trialling a white carbon tube you'd sourced from somewhere, I bet that didn't price in anywhere near two grand.

Edited by iGRF - 06 Jan 19 at 1:19pm

Just because you can spend two and a half grand on a carbon tube because a lame bunch of rules/regs/previous users pseudo scientific BS suggests it's what you need, doesn't mean you should. What you should do is use your noddle to work out how it can be done better and or more cost effectively. Let's look at booms, I've still got that Selden carbon tube with a couple of bits added to it that cost Christ knows how much, what's the difference between it and a stock off the shelf tube from one of these commercial suppliers? Not a lot, I'd venture to suggest. Except two or three hundred quid more because it's being sold to dinghy dimwits.

Edited by iGRF - 06 Jan 19 at 5:26pm

In the class I sail , two of the builders have tried making masts from proprietary tubes. Both turned out to be too soft( so were slow)  and one of them turned out to be fragile too. It’s not as easy as getting a tube and calling it a mast.

Originally posted by Chris 249 You reckon carbon masts are exxy - some crims are ripping off poor kiteboarders so badly that they charge over 1100 quid for a kiteboard, and all they are is just a plank. Sure, there might be some pseudo-scientific BS about how they are made of "military grade carbon fibre" and some silly claims about their bend characteristics, but it's obvious that they could be popped out for 10 quid like a Boogie board. All the kiteboarders need is someone to use their noddle to work out how it can be done better and more cost effectively.

And then there is the Winner Optimist with its no polish, ribletted gelcoat.....effective at 12-14 knots. Cos an Opi goes that fast a lot