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Dar said..
Decrepit.... does the lowered/sunken mast track make a big difference in the handling?
Hmmm, can't give a definite answer to that, I've never had two similar boards, one with, one without.
Two factors are the reason I do it.
I like a lot of flotation, to help me get going, (at 48cm wide it's about 78l).
But thick narrow boards tend to be unstable, the high mast track and fin combine to want to overturn the board.
So the sunken mast track is there to lessen it's leverage over the board. A lot of production boards have a hollow deck, I assume for the same reason. But that reduces volume.
It also gets the sail closer to the board, which may or may not be an advantage.