I have a mate interested in taking up windsurfing and I was going to give him some of my old gear. Trouble is I have a NP sail (no loop on top) that takes a 430 mast but the spare mast I have is a NP 460. For a beginner could I cut the top 30cm off the old 460 mast or will it alter the sailing characteristics too much. Just looking for cheap (free)options for him.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/cutting-down-mast/
Apparently last time I said this it was the worst advice on the internet, so I'll try it again :
If your mast is worth more than $1 then don't, trade it in for a 430
If your mast is worth < $1 and if it gets you on the water when otherwise you wouldn't, then yes, cut it up.
For the sail to perform badly it first has to perform.
If you are just uphauling and wobbling along and you don't have pressure in the sail, then the sail can't perform badly because it isn't performing at all.
If you rigged a sail on a drain pipe then stood blindfolded and stationary in a shed, could you tell the performance of the sail is compromised ?
I learnt to windsurf with a bed sheet tied to a broom stick. A cut down 460 will perform better than that.
Once your mate can sail along, jibe / tack, beachstart and uphaul then start worrying about sail performances.
If this is still the worst advice on the internet then I will go cut down an old mast, sail it and post the video. If you reckon I sail worse than somebody who has never sailed before would sail on a correct mast then I'll concede the above is bad advice and never offer it again.
Considering there is someone somewhere on the internet giving advice on how to make Turkish Delight, that means you are safe in my book!
It is still a very bad idea but if you must do it, only cut the bottom off the mast. This is the stiffest part and doing this will have the least stiffening effect on the mast. It will be way too stiff for the sail but it may be tolerable, or at least usable. At least is is only shortening the mast by one mast size!
