After the square top main, what else can be done in the future to make a sail react more automatically to pressure changes?

How about.

How does current mast design, mast material, and mast flex impact designs?

Or

Any new ideas on how to get the spin doused faster and or easier? What do they think about the Marstrom snail? Will that wear out spins faster or slower than the skunk/bag combo?

And lastly

Any good ideas for old spins?

Toga,Toga,Toga Here

"Are there any new technologies in Kite Boarding or Windsurfing that we may eventually see in our cat sails?"

Reworded : Will we see windsurfer rig technology on catamarans with wide luff sleeves, camber inducers and fibreglass/carbon masts graded for stiffness to suit the sail cut and provide the automatic leech twist-off we are looking for, and if so, how soon ?

Last question : Why are catamaran sails and masts so much more expensive than the windsurfer rigs that are 20 years ahead ?

Size?

Have to disagree, Hobie 1616.
Sail area aside, the manufacturing of a Neil Pryde RS6 or Naish Stealth racing sail is far more labour-intensive, and with camber inducers, extra wide luff-sleeves etc, I would imagine there is about the same amount of sailcloth in a 11sqm racing sail than there is in a 14sqm cat sail.
The masts are 100% carbon, and a 4,6m mast will set me back about $1000. Now, multiply that by 4 and add a bit for a standard aluminium Hobie Tiger mast.
I realise the difficulty of applying windsurfer rig technology to cats, unless on unstayed masts, then you`d rig it on the ground like a winsurfer sail and step it when you want to sail. I know it`s been done, Grob has a very interesting design (I`d want to take both his rigs and convert them back to their intende purpose ).
Just curious to see how w/surfer rig design may or may not influence cat sails in future.

I think the answer is sales volume.

Gareth

Steve,

I think sailbuilding for windsurfers are more industrialized. Sails are cut and assembled in e.g. China, in a large standarized production run.
Cat sails are mostly buildt and assembled by smaller organizations and are far less efficient in production becouse they can not standarize to the same extent or have the same volume. I am sure you can get the same price pr. sail for Mosquitos as for windsufer sails, if you order 10.000. of them

It's the same with masts, no standarized production for cats, while windsurfers are very standarized. Windsurfing masts are machine buildt, whereas our tubes are often hand laid up. Then the cost of fittings and installing them need to be added. Buying just the extrusion and rigging it yourself is not that expensive (for alu, carbon is a different matter).



What I would like to know, is what fibres and laminates we can use that are not based on oil. Are there any competitive cloths made today that are not somehow dependent on oil/oil derivates?

Steve, are you saying that a Hobie Tiger mast is $4000? Even if you're talking Aussy dollars that's $2,950 US. A replacement aluminum mast for a Nacra 6.0NA (the only pricing information I could find online) is $895 US complete.

Kinda reminds me of a thread I saw on a different forum quite a while back....

"The future of yacht design."

JC, you're to late to the punch, as usual :P

Yep - thats what they cost (fitted out). I have one here that has never been on a boat (1/2 fitted out but all the fittings are there) if anybody is interested. The mast is in Melbourne.

Michael

Was quoted a few years back $5700 AUS for an Alloy Marstrom mast fully fitted...... This did however include shipping and a creat made but not taxes.