The Shaw 650 comes standard with a carbon rig, and to date all wooden boats have ended up with carbon rigs. The production Shaw 650 will come standard with a C-Tech carbon twin spreader rig.
The C-Tech Carbon Rig
The question on many sailor’s lips – well other than when’s the beer comin’ – is “does the cost of a carbon rig make sense?”
Non carbon rig classes will tell you no, an aluminium rig is almost as good, and the weight saving is negligible.
Our experience in the boats doesn’t reflect this.
Alex Valling, the designer of the carbon production rig has provided masts for most of the Shaws in the water to date. As C-Tech owner and skiff sailor/expert/guru, Alex is considered one of the World’s experts in sportboat and skiff rigs. So not surprisingly, the weight difference between the carbon rig and an equivalent aluminium spar is considerable:
- Standard C-Tech carbon mast including spreaders and track 14kg (approx 31 pounds)
- Estimated aluminium rig equivalent 25kg (approx 55 pounds)
- Increase in total displacement using aluminium rig 11kg (3%+ of total boat weight)
- Equivalent reduction in keel bulb weight to acheive the same righting moment (estimate) 26kg approx
- Weight on rail required from hiking crew to acheive same righting moment (estimate) at 45 degrees heel (i.e. a broach) +30kg approx
Caught in a sailing accident, the mast stands firm
In other words, switching to a lighter rig results in less heeling moment, and reduces total displacement. As well as this, the carbon rig is a lot stiffer, resulting in a smaller, thinner section which is more aerodynamic with less drag. The increased stiffness allows the rig to be set up with a softer top that sets itself, meaning the square top can ‘breathe’ and depower naturally. The experience of other classes such as the Viper in switching from aluminium to carbon was that the carbon rig increased the high wind ability of the boat considerably.
There are some concerns of fragility, and certainly UV protection and regular checks are important, especially for a carbon rig.
In the Pornstar, a nasty incident saw the boat hooked and towed sideways by a leadmine with the boat basically being supported by the headboard of the mast for minutes. The carbon emerged unscathed for the most part, and the rig did not snap; proof of the strength of C-Tech’s rigs, and the ability of carbon to handle loads, even in directions not normally encountered on the race course.
Mast supporting full weight of the boat, yet stays strong
The ability to put bend where you want it into the rig comes down to rigging set up and tuning, something that any good sailor spends time setting up; however a carbon rig provides on some level, more options to set up, due to the inherent stiffness of the rig itself.
A light weight mast makes trailering a lot easier
In addition, the carbon rig means much lower weights in raising and lowering the rig; very important when setting the boat up and transporting.
And for the other parts – boom, prod, tiller – carbon is great stuff – strong, light and reliable.
So in summary, no matter what the choice of boat, we believe a carbon rig matters, and we are very pleased to be using C-Tech, one of the world’s most experienced carbon mast suppliers for sportboats and performance boats, with every production Shaw 650 sent out.