looking for comments about the Chinook masts. 90% carbon rdm with 14% bend curve is in the pocket for my gear and they are decently priced.

Justin, Pretty sure Troppo has or is using one on his KA,s , give him a yell.

HI Gestalt,
I just recently purchased a Chinook 75% Carbon rdm (i know, it's not a 90%) for my 2012/13 KA Sails.
Only rigged it once but it set really nice. Wind was blowing a bit hard for my 5.3 at the time so had to come in and change down.
Quality is good and weight is much better than the sdm's i am used to.
Geared4knots is selling some on Seabreeze at quite a reasonable price.
Stu.

Ezzy masts are pretty good value. Constant curve and indestructible. Just a thought.

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Stuthepirate said..

. Wind was blowing a bit hard for my 5.3 at the time so had to come in and change down.

Stu.

Chicken, Macro would've been out on a 8.5

I have both the Carbon 60 and Carbon 90 chinook RDMs. I originally used them for my 2012 KA Koyote 7.4 and found the Carbon 60 to work pretty well. According to the specs, the bend characteristics are similar to KA masts but... when I tried the carbon 90 it felt WAY stiffer than the c60 and my 100% carbon 460 KA skinny... inconsistency probably.

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seanhogan said..

Stuthepirate said..

. Wind was blowing a bit hard for my 5.3 at the time so had to come in and change down.

Stu.

Chicken, Macro would've been out on a 8.5

8.5m? Be my guest.

thanks guys, i'll track down troppo as well.

so far including this thread and the pm's it's a yes for the Chinook.

kevin, i reckon there's a point where you gotta go with your instinct and take a product back if you're not convinced. gear can always be outside of spec. especially when it's cheaper. this is the thing that worries me the most.

ikw, I've read so many negative comments about the ezzy mast and the ka sail that i just wouldn't take the risk. do you know what the bend curve is of ezzy?

38 knots.... ooohhhhh that 4.7 weather.

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Gestalt said..

ikw, I've read so many negative comments about the ezzy mast and the ka sail that i just wouldn't take the risk. do you know what the bend curve is of ezzy?

I 'think' that using the larger Ezzy RDMs 490 and possibly 460 in KAs is not quite right. I have a 7.5m and 8.5m concept from 2009 (I think) and they were too loose in the leech for my liking. They didn't rig any better on the Powerex 490 SDM or 460 Severne Blueline either, so I had them recut. I personally think the sails weren't cut quite right originally, but I didn't have a KA mast to really check them on.

Now, they rig well, but I think the 490 is too soft for a 8.5m, so I think I am losing some power in the 8.5m. There is not much extra in the 8.5m compared to the 7.5m

Hey Justin, Ezzy website says, "Ezzy mast bend curves are tip: 75% to 79% and base: 62% to 65%... This is percentage bend relative to the midpoint bend.". At the end of the day, I tried masts with sails that should fit and don't, so now recommend try first. I'd be happy for you to try one of my Ezzy Masts with your sail.

yeah what ezzy are saying is anything from 10-17 bend curve will work but what's their own mast bend? not really a fan of ezzy sails.

obviously they make a good mast from all reports.

downside, it's more expensive than the Chinook and even more importantly it's not the right bend curve. if I can't get a mast within 1% of the right bend curve then i'll just get a KA mast.

andy I would be keen to try your ezzy all the same. then I will see how it compares to my powerex. so I know where it's at.

for my money if a recommended mast doesn't work then it's out of spec and the manufacturer should refund or replace it. I know of a guy around these parts that has measured his masts in the past and sent back the ones that were out of spec.

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Gestalt said..

if I can't get a mast within 1% of the right bend curve then i'll just get a KA mast.

Pretty sure even masts from the same brand aren't within 1% of their spec...
Probably the reason pros test XX masts before picking the correct one.

there are some brands around that claim to be up to spec.

some mast brands vary across their range. for eg, no limitz 430 original skinny is 13.5% but the 400 and smaller are all around 12% so yeah curves vary.


I think it's the manufacturers that won't publish specs that have the QA issues.

meant to mention,

other than bend curve something the pros are looking for is how fast the mast reflex is.

this is on the KA website

We have selected a manufacturer in Italy. The build quality and finish is excellent and every mast is machine tested to ensure compliance to the specified IMCS stiffness and bend curve. The masts are numbered and all data is recorded. All masts are constructed using the latest composites technologies to achieve the perfect strength to weight ratios.

I have also used the Ezzy 430 / 460 on my 6.6 / 7.4 and found it was a bit too soft at the top for my liking. ( I went from the chinooks to ezzy than finally KA)

It's good to use the mast the sail was designed for if you can.