Good point Jake !
Another bethwaite design, the 49-er, doesn't have a rotatin squareback mast either !
with respect to the post made by Glenn
I see that the Infusion and Capricorn have "wing masts", which appear to be modified teardrop sections.
Not really, the wing masts are seriously different from a teardrop masts. It is not even a simple modification to make a teardrops shape into a wingmast shape.
and improved the power of the main by 10+ percent compared to a conventional mast.
I'm quite sure the "conventional" mast here is simply a round tube, nothing more. The difference between a wingmast a la Capricorn and the squareback will be a whole lot small is any difference can be measured.
It also leads to even better improvements in extremely light air (<3kts).
Less then 3 knots is VERY little wind. And the squareback was optimisation for these conditions, I think Bethwaite even wrote that. For the high wind ranges the intended effects can be alot less significant.
So, does anyone know if the Capricorn and Infusion "wing masts" are designed to perform similarly?
I have a wingmast myself (Taipan F16) and more and more I believe its attractiveness is far more related to the way you can tune its bending. I'm sure some improved aerodynamics is present as well, but not as the dominant factor.
Wouter
