I think if you do the math, a carbon stick is not going to get radiacaly cheaper then it is today.

First off, a Carbon mast that is properly made should be around 40% lighter for the same strength and flex characteristics then a standard al mast.

The second issue is cost. Assume Carbon cloth is 50-100 $ per pound in bulk.

A replacement mast for a 20 ft boat would weigh 30-38 lbs roughly complete. The bare tube would weigh about 26-34 lbs. Carbon is aprox 1/2 weight of the finished tube or 13-17 lbs with the remainder epoxy. So the bare minimum materials cost would be 700$ for the spar itself. More likely 1200$ in materials.

As far as labor goes, I can't estimate it. I know the difference between a finished DN iceyachtmast and a kit with peel ply exterior is about 300$. double this for a carbon cat stick or 600 to finish the luff grove, sand and paint the mast.

I would assume there is at least 10 hours of labour in laying up a mast, setting up the autoclave, cuting the luff grove, etc. figure on todays basis US manual labour is ~ 40$ per hour total costs.

You also need to sink the cost of a steam autoclave and a good vacume bagging setup to begin with. Building costs, mandrel.

all things considered, I think you could make a mast in the US for about 3000$ and make a profit.


Eric