A daughters friend of ours went through seven radial bottom sections last year.
I wonder if this carbon mast idea will work this problem out...
I agree with Ross that it is a good idea to rotate the top section every sail.
Clive Humphris;34633[I said:A poorly maintained top spar will break whatever direction the rivet is placed.”[/I]
Since doing this I have had far less permanent bend problems and zero breakages. This doesn’t mean, based on my experience alone, that this is a bomb proof strategy. I still believe that the design is marginal at best and I would like to see a design change to improve its robustness.
This could mean that we should:-
1. Get the Carbon upper section back on the agenda or
2. Design a non rivet collar or
3. Introduce a short reinforcement sleeve
Lack of action on this subject does the reputation of our class no favours.
I would like to hear others opinions on this.
The carbon upper does sound very interesting, but until it is out we will all have to deal with this issue. It this issue more of a problem with Radial? My son is 140 pounds (64 kilograms) so he is not quite at the point where he can go into full rig yet.The composite upper is currently proposed only for Radial sailors.
As far as the original poster's question goes, I'm a little surprised that no one has offered the following that I picked up from somewhere (class association booklet they mailed me when I became a member?)
Anyhow, the idea is that at the top mark, on a windy day, you need to ease off some vang you've been carrying upwind *before* you turn downwind, or you're at considerable risk for bending upper mast sections.