Hi,

I have decided to replace my mixed bag of rdm masts that I use with my 2008 Gators with a set of stiff top masts and wanted to ask whether anyone has used the Unifiber stiff top masts in Severne sails?

I know they recommend the Severne Gorilla mast or Redline, but these masts are very expensive and the unifiber mast 80% is around ??100 less than the gorilla mast

Just want to make sure this mast would work well with the 2008 Gators and potentially the 2013 Blades that I am thinking of getting?


Thanks

Only a $100 more for the mast that is suited for the sail as well as two years warranty?
Its a no brainer, buy the recommended mast!

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Zachery said..

Only a $100 more for the mast that is suited for the sail as well as two years warranty?
Its a no brainer, buy the recommended mast!

Completely agree with Zac especially as I purposely went to Severne/Gorilla for the warranty.

Agree with the others. $500 is not a lot for a Gorilla with a 2 year piece of mind. Speak to your retailer.

$500 is not a lot, but for a 4.2 / 4.7 and 5.3m Gator I need 3 masts! Then it gets expensive.

Or could I be clever and buy a 430 and a 370 and use the 370 top on the 430 to give me a 400cm. Or would that make the 5.3m feel really bad?

Never understood what they are trying to achieve when they say interchangeable?

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flanagaj said..

$500 is not a lot, but for a 4.2 / 4.7 and 5.3m Gator I need 3 masts! Then it gets expensive.

Or could I be clever and buy a 430 and a 370 and use the 370 top on the 430 to give me a 400cm. Or would that make the 5.3m feel really bad?

Never understood what they are trying to achieve when they say interchangeable?

I have gators from 4.7 to 8.0 and they rig on 2 masts (430 and 460).

4.2,4.7 and 5.3 are all adjustable tips and rig on 400.

Here is the 2008 product specs but they look wrong.




So what I would do is.

4.2 (use a 400) let the adjustable tip out 13cm.

4.7 (use 400) with 20 extension.

5.3 (use 400) with 38 extension. (Chinook have one this long but not in carbon)

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jermaldan said..
5.3 (use 400) with 38 extension. (Chinook have one this long but not in carbon)

Interesting - I was pretty sure my carbon Chinook extension goes longer that 38.

Needing so may masts just shows why the new short mast wave sails (Chopper, Swat etc) are so good. I run my sails (4.7,5.2,5.7) on a 400 gorilla. To need three masts is an expensive swap...

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BenKirk said..

jermaldan said..
5.3 (use 400) with 38 extension. (Chinook have one this long but not in carbon)

Interesting - I was pretty sure my carbon Chinook extension goes longer that 38.

Needing so may masts just shows why the new short mast wave sails (Chopper, Swat etc) are so good. I run my sails (4.7,5.2,5.7) on a 400 gorilla. To need three masts is an expensive swap...

Could be that you are right. I thought that the carbon ones went to 25, but I may be wrong.

I don't think that you need to have 3 masts. Like mentioned above, a 400 would to the lot.

I don't know if the recommended mast in the wrong length is any better than the right length in a non recommended mast of the same curve.
Any shops nearby that you can buy Unifibre from, they may allow test rigging.

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SeaSkip said..

I don't know if the recommended mast in the wrong length is any better than the right length in a non recommended mast of the same curve.
Any shops nearby that you can buy Unifibre from, they may allow test rigging.

That was what I was thinking as well. The product table shown on the Severne site is wrong. My sails have the recommended mast printed on the foot of the sail.

I suspect putting a 400 in the 4.2 will make the 4.2 very stiff and twitchy and the 400 in the 5.3m will make it feel really soft.

In fact, I wonder whether you would be better off having the correct IMCS rating for the sail size and the wrong bend curve or the right bend curve and the wrong IMCS?

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BenKirk said..

jermaldan said..
5.3 (use 400) with 38 extension. (Chinook have one this long but not in carbon)

Interesting - I was pretty sure my carbon Chinook extension goes longer that 38.

Needing so may masts just shows why the new short mast wave sails (Chopper, Swat etc) are so good. I run my sails (4.7,5.2,5.7) on a 400 gorilla. To need three masts is an expensive swap...

My extension goes to 48cm I think?

5.3 (2013) blade is rocommended 400 mast with 32 ext, printed on the sail, 5.7 m 2013 s1 will also go on a 400 mast ( gorilla or redline, ) 4.7 blade 2013 goes on 400 mast (407 luff), only the 4.2m that wont fit unless you use a strap, thats only two masts

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Zachery said..
5.3 (2013) blade is rocommended 400 mast with 32 ext, printed on the sail, 5.7 m 2013 s1 will also go on a 400 mast ( gorilla or redline, ) 4.7 blade 2013 goes on 400 mast (407 luff), only the 4.2m that wont fit unless you use a strap, thats only two masts

That is true, but whilst the 5.3m / 4.7 and 4.2m 2013 Blades will fit on a 400 and 370 I still have the issue with how best to rig the Gators I have.

What I find even more interesting since raising this question, is that one shop I just spoke to told me to stick with the constant curve masts that I have and that he knows sailors who switched out their hard top masts for CC ones.

i am a MauiSails fan and started with an MS Pursuit 8.5
i could not afford an MS mast at the time and purchased an Autima 490/90% mast instead
it was my first new sail and it seemed fine

later i discovered Autima was rated CC
i purchased an MS-2 8-oh with cambers to replace the Pursuit with an MS 490/75 mast
i tried that mast on the Pursuit 8.5
there was a slight difference that i found insignificant

Unifiber on the other hand, advertise that they can provide hard top masts
my local MS dealer, auventfou in Montreal, offers them as a cheaper and acceptable substitute to the MS masts
also, i believe it was Britt Viehman who stated that smaller , no camber sails were less "sensitive" to hard top
and as such were just fine with CC masts

whatever happens - wish you lots o`TOW or time on the water with those small sails :-)
my smallest sail is a 6.3 - but then again i weigh over 100 kilos or 220 pounds

enjoy summer - snow on the ground here and waiting for ice to do ice sail boarding :)
with my MS sails and hard top masts ...

I just got a Severne 6m overdrive.I had a Sailworks lipstick CC mast so thought that would work but it didn't as it was too stiff near the boom / bottom to allow the bottom cam to rotate.
I got a Severne blueline SDM 430 and it now rotates. Still not 100% but Severne told me the 6m is designed as a highwind for sail for heavier people so probably the reason is the winds I use it c 18-23kts and my weight 64kg is not 80kg + or what it's designed for.
Reason I bought that up is you really need to try the sail on the mast as on paper the Sailworks looked not bad

when it comes to cambered sails - i HIGHLY recommend using the suggested mast(s) !!!
even suggested masts may have camber rotation issues until the sail is `broken in` !!!