1) UV damage (5.5 months a year) and durability.

Alu wins out big in this respect.

2) If it is an issue to have the mainsail cut to match the mast characteristics.

not a problem.

3) Getting a mast to the US if none made here.

expensive

4) Possible cost issues

carbon mast itself will be expensive as well. Think many thousants of dollars (3000-4000 US$)


Alu mast is often also alot easier to modify/repair up to the point of breaking the mast itself. Differences in overall mast weight is not expected to pass 9 lbs. So raising the mast unto the boat should not be that much different. By far most sail development has been done on the Alu rig, so it is fully expected that the new and young carbon rig will be of the same performance as the current alu rig. The carbon rig simply hasn't seen the same amount of devellopment to result in maximizing its potential. But even then the difference between the two are expected to be really small, indistinquisable in anything but very competitive racing in decent sized fleets. The carbon rig will need to get a custom mainsail and that will be more expensive then just getting the standard Dacron sails for the alu mast.

In my opinion the only true benefit (in your case) of carbon is the rightability. I'm not sure whether paying roughly 3500 to 4500 US$ more for that is attractive. Personally I didn't think this to be the case and so I decided to go for alu when I had to make the choice in early 2003. Now I'm 185-190 lbs so rightibility was never a question. Still if I were lighter then I think I would still have opted for the alu mast and right my boat with the aid of a waterbag. Thus keep that large chunck of money in my pocket or spend it on new sails some 3 to 5 years done the road (I'm racing my boat so I need new sails sooner then others)

Wouter