Jack

One wonders where the hell people get the money for the toys. The sailboat I saw down in SD has a 196 foot CF mast as everyone was telling me. The guys over at SD Marine Exchange had some of the details, and it was the talk when they showed up. The mast is the tallest I have ever seen without doubt. For something however tall, I can clearly see the advantages to a light-weight alternative to the standard aluminum alloys. Can you imagine the weight penalty? Jeeez...

It's interesting that the price of CF is dropping. I remember it being about 25% higher not too many years ago. I have some theories as to why, part being the acceptance and performance in ceratin applications, but I do know that several of the refineries now make it for air credits in lieu of disposal.

I appreciate your reply on the details of the infusion process. I've made up a series of panels for the car and truck using a homemade system that was filled with trails and tribulations, but I did get it to work but lke you said, the air leaks really screw the process up. I found that few epoxies worked competely well for me and I had to return to my favorite for it's low viscosity. That was another stumbling block for me that took some experimenting to work out.

: Our shop make CF Masts, booms, spars, etc on a triaxel braider that braids CF
: and fiberglass toe around madrels. The interesting thing about CF is that
: it's price has come down to the point where labor is the significant
: factor in production. If CF is 4 times as stiff a glass you can pay
: someone to put more layers of cheaper glass on to achieve the desired
: stiffness or fewer layers of more expensive CF. We are finding that using
: CF pay off for spars.

: It is true that sailing in general is rich mans sport. We are working on an
: order for 135' sail batons for a huge boat in San Fran. I wonder if it is
: the same one as you are refering to. I can't believe how big the baton
: are.

: Below is a picture of an around the world boat that we made the CF rig for.

: Regards,

: Jack