I read on this site a while ago that a Neilpryde mast can be cut down to size.
I have a local shallow waterway that is just doable to foil at High tide. But the area of the waterway is small. And a few times I hit bottom when reducing my height off the water.
And what end of the mast can be cut away? I am hoping the board end as my mast is slightly damaged from a hard side on hit from an OH wave. But probably not because of the mast plate fit.
I was wondering of an ideal shortest length. ?

My answer would be around 60cm min.

btw You can use a timber drop saw to get a perfect cut and it goes through like a hot knife through butter and it doesn't seem to damage the saw teeth.

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Seajuice said..
I read on this site a while ago that a Neilpryde mast can be cut down to size.
I have a local shallow waterway that is just doable to foil at High tide. But the area of the waterway is small. And a few times I hit bottom when reducing my height off the water.
And what end of the mast can be cut away? I am hoping the board end as my mast is slightly damaged from a hard side on hit from an OH wave.
I was wondering of an ideal shortest length. ?

In not messy conditions where the swell is pretty directional I've been able to use a 60cm mast without much trouble. It has turned to be quite hard to manage when messy

I was hoping less than 60cm. Maybe 40cm
I think Slingshot had a short learner mast and a kitefoiler has used that in shallow water. I'll check that size.

Yes. Slingshot has 15 inch which is about 38cm. So hoping I can cut my damaged NP mast down to that size.

I would only foil that spot at high tide or find another spot rather than foil with a 40cm mast..

You would either be breaching or touching down continuously..

I regularly wing in a shallow location with a 45cm mast. It's fine if it's flat you get used to pretty quickly. However when the wind gets up (20knots plus) it's a bit of a nightmare as the chop is about the height of the mast! The other wingers using 60cm masts cope better in these conditions. Ideally I wouldn't use a 45cm mast but I can walk to this location so it's easy!

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Seajuice said..
I was hoping less than 60cm. Maybe 40cm
I think Slingshot had a short learner mast and a kitefoiler has used that in shallow water. I'll check that size.

If you have nice and smooth conditions it will work, you will probably breach often but if you use a low aspect front wing you might get away with it . If the water is messy then I doubt it will work

I use a Armstrong 45cm mast to prone mostly but have winged it. Works great once you get used to it. I would recommend using footstraps so you can recover easily when breaching. I like to use a big foil and short fuse with this combo. You gain an enormous amount of control over the foil with such a short mast. I think you can have a ton of fun at that length.

Hi Seajuice,
The spot you are talking about we all run 72cm masts. Trouble with a short mast like you are thinking about is the board will touch when pumping or turning, especially on a SUP.

I use a 60cm mast prone foiling for shallow reef spots, wouldn't recommend any smaller.Also worth considering board volume, especially if prone/ wing board less than your body weight. Low volume board you will sink, hence mast becomes deeper and would likely hit the bottom.