Ok Ive been told that high carbon content masts are less durable..?..Also that you shouldn't lay your mast / rig in the sun to rig etc as it makes the carbon brittle?
Can you damage /weaken masts by too tight a boom clamp and how do you tell how tight is ok?
Ezzy are 90% carbon...
God I hate decisions!
[}:)]
I am spending too much time on Seabreeze!
Refer to Marks comments about Ezzy RDMs being unbreakable in flat water conditions. I think you can believe it. I am sure they break eventually, but less so than some of the other masts out there.
The other good thing about RDMs in general is that they give you a thick rubber shim that is meant to allow you to use a normal SDM boom on the RDM. In fact they often only warranty the mast if the shim is used. This also means that the mast gets a more even load and it would be difficult to crush it.
Race sails typically use 100% carbon masts for the response characteristics (and weight I think), but carbon is brittle, so they can suffer from knocks.
I have snapped 100% carbon race masts in the sun but I think it is a combination of high loads from huge sails and the heat.
Just buy one of all the masts out there and give us a report in a few months time?...
You are over-thinking this.
With your size and weight you are not going to be rough on gear.
Did you stress so much last time (pre-Internet, I'm guessing), or did you just buy a mast and go sailing ?
Bet ya just grabbed one and never gave it a thought. How long did it last ? 15 years ??
Carbon won't degrade in sun.. Carbon fibre is just like graphite except its all tangled up and not in sheets.. It will last another 14 billion years of sunlight without changing.. So carbon fibre has the strength of the carbon atoms without the flakeyness that comes with a pure graphite... Carbon fibre turns to graphite at really high temps but you won't get to them in the sun... Its the epoxy that degrades in the sun.. But the outside layer of carbon will stop sunlight reaching the inside layers.. Same reason why black rubber lasts longer than normal rubber..
You cannot damage a mast by over tightening the clamp, its a pretty small lever, and it applies the clamp pressure evenly around the mast..
that's it, im using black condoms, not only will i look bigger but i'll last longer 
So B true!! I was much happier when I was ignorant! Still I am getting a bit paranoid having 2 masts break the same way within a few months..same sail & only after I started whinching it down enough to get the leech loose..mmm
unfortunately this is one of the issues with using an incorrect mast. you need to load things up more or maybe less to get the correct shape.
that can lead to broken masts, busted cams, torn sleeves. the list is endless and some better or worse than others depending.
not to say you need the exact mast for a sail but the closer the better.
I've found that a few "newer" style booms have their own skinny adaptors, or a wrap around clamp, these days - None of the supplied boom adaptors or the wrap around clamps are any where near as good as using the rubber adaptor supplied with the Ezzy RDM.
With these "newer" style booms you can not fit the Ezzy RDM using the Ezzy adaptor - they won't physically fit.
I tighten my clamp with all my powers combined and I've never crushed it.. Maybe I need some weetbix..
But I figure the clamping pressure when the clamp is closed is less than when the clamp is halfway closed, so if you can close it, then its should be fine? But I wouldn't do this with the boom anywhere on the mast but the dedicated boom zone..
But everyone feel free to run to the shed and pull out your X9, take it to a weightlifting competition and prove me wrong!
Breakage around the join suggests that the 2 mast halves may have separated a bit during rigging, which creates nasty loading points.
I've been happy with my Pryde X6 RDM, which means I've bought it, rigged it, used it and it's still good. Didn't see any broken ones during the Maui week either, that I recall.
So B true!! I was much happier when I was ignorant! Still I am getting a bit paranoid having 2 masts break the same way within a few months..same sail & only after I started whinching it down enough to get the leech loose..mmm
I broke the mast today, second within two months on Shearwater, QLD.
Is is typical week point just below boom? I suspect that must be some connection with my new boom since of all my 4 booms that one broke my two masts none of older any before. I think that problem is that boom connection is too stiff and whole boom works as big lever. Because breakage happen just after water start it wasn't even big load on the sail at the time. First mast broken 430cm and 6.2 sail at 25 knots, next 460 7.0m2 at 22 knots.
get the best mast your budget will allow. I recon the 100% RDM mast i have is the best buy i have ever made. Made more difference than when i have changed some of the sails in the past. I hate sailing with my 30% carbon or SDM now.
My 400, 430 & 460 are 30% SDM
My 490 is a 100% RDM - This is by far the most comfortable rig setup.
We have managed to break 3 masts in 4 years.
A Tushingham ndm 100% from a big Hooked in stack
A North Platinum Drop shape from a stack
A Challenger ndm 100% sitting in the sun.(White mast pocket)
All masts using Overdrives so they were not hyper bent.
All of them broke 100 to 200 mm below the boom clamp
I think it is the point of maximum load for all masts and dont think "Brand" has anything to do with it. Just buy a new mast and keep on sailing ( a response I got from the wife)
i think brand has everything to do with it.
all of my masts are powerex bar 1 which is a unifiber, i haven't snapped a mast in 6 -7 years. i broke a few prior to the powerex.
just recently i had a very big off that bent my europin uni but still no broken masts.
same with booms, i went through a patch a few years back where i was breaking carbon booms regularly.
my rule of thumb is if i break a piece of kit in conditions i think not deserving of a breakage i don't buy that brand again.
For years we have been using a piece of old hot water bottle as a shim/cushion
for the boom clamp. The material I am talking about has one side serrated.
Since using this method we have never had any boom slipping down and I do not have to exert great pressure to close the clamp.
nah, i'm an average joe on the water.
i don't take any particular care of my gear, i leave it in the sun, never wash it etc.
i weigh 105kg+ so i put a lot of force onto things when i stack it.
over the years i've seen a lot of brands of gear just break for no apparent reason. you just need to vote with your wallet.
not to say stuff doesn't break, cause it does, but there is stuff out there that is very hard to break.
edit,,,, thought i'd add, i don't buy 100% carbon masts. i always go for 60-80% as they take more knocks and don't cost a mint. sails are xply, fins g10 where i can, boards are timber layup, booms carbon that don't have a breakage record.. etc etc.
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I use a 30% carbon mast for land sailing. I bought it new 3 yr ago. i have crash landed after becoming airborne in 85kph winds, flipped numerous times onto the mast all under full power. No damge as yet. 
