Severne Blade 5.5m 2015 Mast Options

Severne Blade 5.6m 2015 Mast Options.

I have a 5.5m Blade. I am looking for the right mast to rig it on. Aside form Severne, what other masts could I look for...?
I have a 430 Carbon constant curve Fibrespar and it rigs really loose in the luff.
Any help is much appreciated...

Cheers
Dan Freene
Sydney.

Look up gaastra rdm 2015 430. I have one going cheap if it looks good. I think they are compatible with the old severnes.

Excuse me. I'm using this post to highlight one of the biggest problem of windsurfing IMO: rig complexity. Why the manufacturers don't agree two or three type of masts compatible with any sail maker? This is, all the wave masts would have the same curve, the race ones theirs, and freerides theirs, for example

It"s not strange there are less winsurfers than before. A lot of more simple water sports are born, and windsurfing rig continues as complex and heavy as always

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Mucel said..
Excuse me. I'm using this post to highlight one of the biggest problem of windsurfing IMO: rig complexity. Why the manufacturers don't agree two or three type of masts compatible with any sail maker? This is, all the wave masts would have the same curve, the race ones theirs, and freerides theirs, for example

It"s not strange there are less winsurfers than before. A lot of more simple water sports are born, and windsurfing rig continues as complex and heavy as always

There is an infinite number of rig sizes and shapes - just like there is an infinite number of board shapes.
This is because most windsurfers demand performance gear - and choice.

Part of that choice means you can have a really light rig - if you are willing to pay for high carbon components.

But if you don't care about top performance then you can often get away with fitting any sail on the right length of mast.

Windsurfing can still be a simple water sport, especially if you launch in sub-20knot conditions and don't expect to plane.

i also know people who use simple gear like a 100 litre freestyle board with just two sails - so you can have a lot of fun, on a budget.

The key to having less gear is to match your kit with the typical local conditions. If you start with the right mast for your sail brand then that mast should last for years.

On topic, most RDMs are constant curve nowadays, and will fit most wave sails. It's really only with race sails that the mast match gets more critical.

The thing with windsurfing is that it's an ever changing sport especially with equipment.

One thing a lot of people also don't notice if they are fairly new to the sport is that it's become far more specific to its individual uses.
By that I mean in the old days you had a wave board, slalom board, speed board, race board.

Wave boards now are very specific, some are down the line only style of boards, some are stubby boards, some are better in onshore conditions.

Rigs too have done the same thing. Sails for lighter riders, power wave sails and the list goes on.

In some ways masts have become less specific, some are better for race sails but most companies RDM masts fit both wave and freeride sails.

The carbon content these days unless its an SDM mast doesn't mean its more fragile, just means better response time.

Its a bummer that theres not a universal mast system but I look at it like a car, if I want a door handle for a Toyota, a ford one wont work on it and I have to bite the bullet and buy the correct model, year, colour, type, etc.

You don't have to do a course in engineering to buy a mast, just buy the same brand as the sails, which , yes I dont agree with but there are companies out there that make masts and usually supply a chart to see what they are compatible with.

Windsurfing is like rock'n'roll. IT WILL NEVER DIE.

I've accumulated 3 X 430, 3 X 400 & 2 X 370 RDM wave masts over the years with groups is different bend curves. Mainly the wave gear is becoming very tough so no longer blowing through kit every season & when I changed brands, brought masts at the same time. I find it interesting to switch masts and mainly find my bigger sails (5.3 + 5.7) are more sensitive & noticeably prefer the right masts. Under 5.0 it becomes less of a concern and at the end of the day, I'll stick any mast up the sleeve to keep a good session going.

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Tanel said..
My 5.5 Blade supposed to rig on 400cm with long extension but feels too soft for my kilos that way. So I have been using my Maverx 100% 430 top + 400 bottom, works very well for me.

Tanel
I got back into the sport last year and was fortunate to have an experienced friend walk me through the mast complexity.
His sails of choice are Severne Blades (hard top?) and Sailworks Revos (constant curve). His approach to NOT buying 2 sets of masts is to mix 2 models of Nolimitz masts. The Nolimitz Sumo is a little stiffer than the Skinny. He uses the full Sumo as his constant curve for the Revo. When he sails a Blade, he uses a Skinny bottom half with a Sumo top half, to create a 'hard top'. He's happy with how everything rigs up.This allows him to get away with owning just 1.5 masts in whatever sizes he needs. Its possible as we have a Nolimitz dealer who sells the mast halves separately. Not sure how common that is.

Just my opinion but I agree there's too much rig complexity. As someone who is assembling kit and making purchase decisions, there is no way I would spend good $ on Neil Pryde (flex top) gear, to end up with a mast that will limit my sail brand choices down the road. It's unfortunate, because IMHO NP makes absolutely beautiful sails. I'm limiting myself to constant curve to maximize my future sail choices.The industry was able to standardize on lengths and diameters (and mast boxes, fin boxes). It's in everyone's interest if they can make some further collective decisions around flex to reduce the cost barriers to entry to our sport. Just look at the # of Seabreeze threads devoted to mast questions.

Good luck,
Jim