I'm not an expert here and agree with the premise of your argument but surely the carbon mast is going to be lighter, and Hall have properly optimized the section for the sail cut of the N17 Performance Sails...in which case the teams that get delivery of their sections at Worlds, have a day or 2 to train would surely be faster no?? Decreased pitching moment upwind...
Personally, I try to stick to the ideal of not introducing anything new at a Nationals or above... the mast is a pretty big change, and surely sheets differently. I don't want to be learning something new - my two or three days on the water before a Nationals or Worlds is to make sure everything is working on the boat, and getting a good look at the race area conditions. Of course, sometimes I've had to break that personal guideline - at the F18 Worlds in Long Beach, I was on a completely new platform, without even other people's experience or a tuning guide to work with. I was grateful for the opportunity, but we didn't do the boat justice at all - too much to learn, and the wrong time to be learning. At least for me - obviously, some sailors can hit stride right out of the gate. My neural pathways are too calcified.
