When Coleman (then Hobie's parent company) was sued regarding a death involving a hobie mast and a power line, part of the settlement was that Hobie, from thence forward, would install non-conductive upper masts on all its boats sold in the US. I don't think the Tigers (a HobieEurope product) have 'em, but most all the 16/17/18/20's do. ALL the 20's; they were introduced after the decision. Essentially, the top 4 or 5 feet of the mast is plastic.