For 99.9% of the people out there, there are more performance gains to be had by just learning how to sail better with what you have. Thinking you can buy performance is not a reasonable expectation and a very bad investment no matter if it is only $5 more expensive. It is just as easy to sail poorly with a carbon mast as an aluminum one.
Matt
Thank you Matt and amen...make it 99.999999%
Reminds me a little of surfing and surfboards. I grew up with a guy named Jeff Clark. This guy is an incredible waterman. He'd windsurf in a hurricane and surf anything on any board. We'd always be debating the best surfboard design--twin fin, tri, etc; how much rocker, bouyancy, rail profile, etc. Meanwhile, you could hand Jeff a 2x8 and he could surf circles around you. Jeff always tried to get me to go surf this spot where we lived--looked too big and dangerous for me. He surfed it anyway...for years without any fanfare. That spot is now known as Mavericks, one of the legendary big wave spots in the world. If you haven't seen it, rent Riding Giants!
