Opti mast

[dn4889]

I'm thinking about making a different mast for my kids Opti. I would like to be able to raise and lower the sail conventionally and not have to undo the whole rig. I found a section of an old aluminum boom that is similar in diameter. I was planning on attaching lugs to the sail and just work it that way. Does any see any problem with this. The section I found is foil shaped and would probably rotate a little. I am not looking for any speed improvement, just a more convienent way for my kid to sail. Tom Austin

[Geoff Sobering]

I know Daniel Hearn has at least one of his Ice-Opti rigs setup with slugs and a track attached to the side of an existing (round) Opti mast. 

I'm not sure what problems (rules/specs-wise) you'd have using a different mast cross-section... 

Cheers,

Geoff S.
US-5156

[Daniel Hearn]

Hi Tom:

I do, in fact, have two Ice Opti masts set up with external tracks which use slugs for sail attachment.  I did this purely for convenience, and before our racing thing really got off the ground.  It's a very nice convenience, but it may have some minor sail plan performance drawbacks.  The bigger concern, however, is that it is not class legal.  At this point in our Junior program racing development, it has not been an issue, but I'd encourage you to pursue a different solution that is just about as convenient AND is class legal.  I did this one on the latest Ice Opti I put together for my son Frankie.  If you simply use the unscrewable tang that I developed with Dave's Machining, you can leave the loops tied in your sail and simply slide the sail on the mast (so it operates pretty much the same as the track).  Just tie your loops using two wraps, then tie a square not and put a little superglue on the knot to assure that it doesn't come untied.  Much more convenient, no performance loss and class legal--it's a great solution.  Just get in touch with me if you have questions. 

Daniel Hearn
US5352