1993 mast tube failure?

Ticktack

Member
In the Sunfish timeline Pdf, it states that in 1993 the mast tubes experienced a higher than normal failure rate. I was curious if they are talking about the fiberglass tube in hull or the mast itself? Thanks!
 
The PDF notes:
1993:
• Composite, resin coated, foam core "racing" daggerboard becomes an option.
• Mast tube alleged to experience higher failure rate than in previous years (see 2005).

2005:
• Fiberglass Rudder blade introduced as an option.
• Mast reinforcing sleeve retro-fit kit introduced (see 1993)
• Hull weight listed by Vanguard as 120 Pounds.

The mast reinforcement sleeve is to reinforce the mast, not the mast step.

I was curious if they are talking about the fiberglass tube in hull or the mast itself? Thanks!

My guess, based on the above, it's the mast they're referring too.
 
The PDF notes:
1993:
• Composite, resin coated, foam core "racing" daggerboard becomes an option.
• Mast tube alleged to experience higher failure rate than in previous years (see 2005).

2005:
• Fiberglass Rudder blade introduced as an option.
• Mast reinforcing sleeve retro-fit kit introduced (see 1993)
• Hull weight listed by Vanguard as 120 Pounds.

The mast reinforcement sleeve is to reinforce the mast, not the mast step.



My guess, based on the above, it's the mast they're referring too.

Thanks for your reply & input, that's what I was thinking too, that they were talking about the mast. Maybe they got a bad batch of aluminum that year??
I was concerned because I recently acquired a '91 Pearson sunfish & knew they made the '93 boats too, wondering if they didnt use enough glass at mast step.
Thanks!
 
Some background on the mast reinforcement issue:
AFAIK, sailors from Curacao complained about breaking masts. Note though that they often sail in big breeze (20 mph) and in big waves. Curacao had some great sailors, like former World Champions Cor van Aanholt and Steven Smeulders. They were big and strong and, I guess, put a lot of strain on the rig. Based on these (and perhaps other) complaints, Vanguard (I think) tried to help and introduced the sleeve. In fact, I sailed in a 2007 regatta close to Willemstad (capital of Curacao) where some new designs of the sleeve were trialed. As I vaguely remember, nothing broke in that windy event.


I was surprised to read that LaserPerformance apparently has gotten rid of the sleeve again. But LP never ceases to puzzle me (to say it nicely)...
 
Some background on the mast reinforcement issue:
AFAIK, sailors from Curacao complained about breaking masts. Note though that they often sail in big breeze (20 mph) and in big waves. Curacao had some great sailors, like former World Champions Cor van Aanholt and Steven Smeulders. They were big and strong and, I guess, put a lot of strain on the rig. Based on these (and perhaps other) complaints, Vanguard (I think) tried to help and introduced the sleeve. In fact, I sailed in a 2007 regatta close to Willemstad (capital of Curacao) where some new designs of the sleeve were trialed. As I vaguely remember, nothing broke in that windy event.


I was surprised to read that LaserPerformance apparently has gotten rid of the sleeve again. But LP never ceases to puzzle me (to say it nicely)...
Thanks so much for everyone's feed back & info, it eases my mind a lot. I acquired an extremely nice '91 sunfish earlier this see summer & had seen posts about problems with the Pearson boats.
Glad to hear the mast step wasn't one of the issues!
 

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