Short masts

[grigorib]

Let's assume you've passed your foil learning phase long ago and you enjoy freeride, regardless of your racing habits. You ride deep water enough but imagine you go to places waist to chest deep like OBX or even more shallow like SPI

Assume you've got a 42" mast already which is quite long for those and you"d be asked to pick a mast as a present, for free.
Either 36" mast OR 28"

Which one you'd pick?

[DukeSilver]

I'd go for the 28" mast so you have a real point of difference and better shallow water potential. 36" is as long or longer than many manufacturers longest masts. I think my longest Slingshot Hover Glide mast is 35.5".

[gbrungra]

28"

Even 24" masts are getting popular because of the SUP foils.

[bigtone667]

28" works really well. You can still turn pretty hard provided you stay close to the water without breaching. Everything else is normal with the added bonus of being able to start in pretty shallow locations.

[Mitaka]

Definitely 28"!

I have been riding 90 cm mast for two years and now it is collecting dust after I bought the 70 cm in the beginning of this summer - much more fun!

[BWD]

28"
Aside from quick turns in waves and easier recovery from crashing for beginners, short masts are a way to open shallower territory.
Many places I ride there is a 15-30cm tidal range, and a lot of flats that are .5-.8m depth at low tide.
Ideally I would think my short mast would be shorter than my 91cm full mast by about the 2/3 amount of the tide range. So 70cm or 28" would be great. This would open hours of time in shallower areas.
With a big surf wing or lots of anhedral you could go shorter but would be making compromises in ability to handle upwind, chop, jibes etc.
On the other hand if I usually rode where the tide was a couple of meters, a short mast might not be worth it - would just have to choose deep spot or high tide.

[Peter_Frank]

Definitely 28"!

I have been riding 90 cm mast for two years and now it is collecting dust after I bought the 70 cm in the beginning of this summer - much more fun!

In deep water and waves, why do you find it more fun with the 70 instead of the 90 ?
Or are you talking about shallow water ?

If in deep water and waves, very interesting have never heard that before

I have 83, 92, 100 cm and never use the 83, except for marginal onshore wind below 6 knots, way too short otherwise, it hinders both carving hard/aggressive and making relaxed turns without ventilating risk ....

Even in light wind and riding waves "fishing" steeper waves in low water inside, I use the longer masts and just avoid getting "off" the foil here inside where low water

So curious since some like Bracuru goes 110 now and wont go back he says

Two complete opposite trends are emerging maybe ?

PF

[grigorib]

Definitely 28"!

I have been riding 90 cm mast for two years and now it is collecting dust after I bought the 70 cm in the beginning of this summer - much more fun!

In deep water and waves, why do you find it more fun with the 70 instead of the 90 ?
Or are you talking about shallow water ?
...
So curious since some like Bracuru goes 110 now and wont go back he says

Two complete opposite trends are emerging maybe ?

PF

Well, I've been riding 36" for long time and riding deep water I wished to reduce breaching chances edging hard, but on the opposite when riding shallows I wanted a shorter mast to hit bottom less often, up to the point like in SPI where I would just give up foiling at all on 36" mast.

So I'm weighing 42"+28" masts as compared to 42"+36" (given I already have the 42")

[Peter_Frank]

Nothing in between ?

36 sounds big in those shallow waters, and 28 sounds really really short...

I had the same difference between masts myself earlier, almost 8 inches, too much - and got one in between which has been perfect (for me).

42 and 36 sounds pretty close, but there is a huge step down to a 28 IMO too big if one could find a compromise ?

Is it alu - then you can choose the 36 and cut it down to say 32, right ? Just an idea...

If not and no other choice, I would go with the 28 I think, so you have one for really shallow water and marginal onshore conditions - it can be the difference between getting out or not

PF

[Mitaka]

In deep water and waves, why do you find it more fun with the 70 instead of the 90 ?

With the shorter mast I have better control and I can turn easier, faster and tighter because I have less submerged mast in the water. The foil is much more agile, reactive and more fun to ride and now I always prefer the short mast when playing with waves. Less submerged mast means also less imbalance due to moving water/ passing waves.

I have 83, 92, 100 cm and never use the 83, except for marginal onshore wind below 6 knots, way too short otherwise, it hinders both carving hard/aggressive and making relaxed turns without ventilating risk

83 cm is not short enough, you should try 70 cm with your biggest front wing
I experience exactly the opposite - with the short mast I can turn much more aggressive and radical and I am not talking about carving at high speed where you lean and need the long mast in order to prevent ventilation. I am talking about tight turns at lower speed when riding waves and trying to do some bottom turns and cutbacks. It is important to specify that I combine the short mast with a bigger, slower front wing - Wave XL.

I do not recommend using the short mast with faster wings except when learning, in shallow waters or in marginal onshore conditions.