By whom ?

Any properly educated engineer is taught or knows from experience that producing perfectly identical components by intent is a fallicy. Especially when components are very elongated, complex or even bulky.

The Tornado class has been on a OD-design fallicy ride. The "minority" has been on recieving end of scorn for a long time, but I bring back to memory the common industry solution to this problem as was presented to all when the Tornado carbon masts were proposed.

The sprockets used in rear axle differential coupling in cars and trucks are component that require to be very accurately produced for proper operation (low wear). The general geometric shape is such that this is even harder to achieve then with normal sprockets. Hard = prohibitively expensive.

Solution : By understanding that variations in the end product are statistical in nature (as all variations in real life are) one can produce a large number of these sprockets using pretty inaccurate means and then just measure all of them and combine complementary parts into the finished product. Here the inaccuracy in one direction is offset by an equal and opposing inaccuracy of the other part.

This way highly accurate finished products are made using pretty cheaply produced and relatively inaccurate basic components.

Working on this principle it is actually CHEAPER, to have a batch of 40 masts made and have these measured and have one selected to fit a given sail best then to try to produce a sufficiently accurate carbon mast in one try for the same given sail.

This was the way of doing things when Alu masts were still used and it appears that the same procedure is best followed with the new carbon masts as well.

This needs not be a bad thing either. Best any producer can do is just produce a batch of masts and measure them all and have each crew bring a sail (that will all have significant variations as well) and have them select the best mast from the batch. Due to the sail variations it is high probable that each crew will favour a different mast and in the end a very high percentage of the batch of masts will be sold. The remaining masts can then be sold at discount prices to recreational sailors thus earning back the investments.

Industry does this in an overwhelming manner where the components can not be adjusted after they are produced for technical reasons or economic reasons.

Why did anybody believe that the Tornado masts would ever be any different in this respect ?

Wouter