Thanks for the response Rolf,

In answer to your questions:


Yes, it is bending more than I would've liked. I hadn't realised until I saw the pictures. The outhaul was set up quite tight with about 30mm of draft when unloaded. From the photos it looks like under load the draft has become excessive and could be more than double the static setting. In future I'll have to bear this in mind and/or get a stiffer boom.



Because I knew that I was going to be sailing with a fat b*****d for the day, I set the mast up very straight (minimal prebend).


This sort of comes into your second question as well. I have found the carbon mast to be all round more responsive. Bend can be induced very quickly and easily with downhaul and/or rotation. In the photo the spanner is pointed just forward of the shroud so we are in effect slightly over-rotated - this keeps the slot clear as the mast doesn't sag in its fore and aft axis but allows some sideways bend and the leech to open. Additional downhaul would cause even more sideways bend and more sail twist. De-rotation would (without altering the downhaul) flatten the sail more but reduce sideways mast bend, give less 'drive' and straighten the leech. Alternatively we could just ease the downhaul and this would allow the leech to stand up again. However, from the photo you can see that, apart from the deep foot, the sail is set really well and the power available to us is being used very effectively - we're not overpowered.

The short answer I guess, is that the carbon mast IS more responsive than an aluminium one....



To illustrate the point about mast bend, this picture was taken just before the one posted earlier. Although in this one I have eased the sheet slightly compared to the later one, you can still see the sideways mast bend above the spreaders. It also illustrates how easing the sheet just an inch or so results in dramatically increased twist. A powerful mainsheet on these boats is an ABSOLUTE MUST!