Hi, I had a Wharram Wingsail on my Hinemoa - it is an approved option for which you can buy the plans. I used a round aluminium mast made by Z-Spars and sails by Jeckells. I used Dyneema shrouds and stainless forestay ?with roller reefing. If you haven¡¯t sailed a boat with the WW sail you perhaps should before committing. The sail is both powerful and forgiving of poor sail setting, particularly off wind, and it is possible to spill a lot of wind high up by letting the gaff swing out if you need to loose drive in a hurry. The boom less design is also a good safety feature on an open deck boat. I know a lot of people swear by them, but I would not have another out of choice because it is not particularly close winded and getting it up and down the mast, particularly in strong winds, can be a struggle. The gaff angle is critical and not always easy to manage when everything is flapping about and you need to get the sail down in a hurry. Also my sail was fairly stiff and reluctant to fold neatly as it came down the mast with a propensity to trap the external halyards if the folds were not neat. My problems may have been uniquely bad, but you will find other articles about the raising/lowering issues so I am not alone. In summary: a good powerful sail particularly for off wind sailing, but raising/lowering may not be easy, especially ?in strong winds.
A personal view, others will no doubt disagree.
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On 29 Dec 2023, at 15:38, Bill Mansfield <billman3968@...> wrote:
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Thxs, i think for smaller mast, this works. For a long, wider mast, not so sure with the compression, you can get it off. Even with the proper epoxy finish, release agent, peel ply ect on thr manderl. Smaller yes, i have done it.
Thats why im just going to buy am alum mast, and use the wharram soft wing sail on the boat.?
With the pvc part inside, the carbon needed, and the epoxy, i doubt i can make a lighter weight mast then a str8?
Alum pole with light rigging
On Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 6:43?PM David Mancebo via <mancebodesigns=
[email protected]> wrote:
Bernd suggests leaving the mandrel inside the finished mast. Here is another option I have used. After applying mold release to the mandrel, laminate a couple very thin layers over the mandrel and cover with peel ply. When the resin is at the "green stage", i.e. semi-hard, slit it with a razor knife. After cure, open the part where it was slit so it can slip off the end of the mandrel. Remove the peel ply and add a layer or two of glass tape over the slit. You now have a light weight mandrel to add carbon and resin for the full mast tube construction.
I originally used this method on a borrowed aluminum mast. I removed all the fittings, sealed the bolt rope slot and fastener holes with packing tape. I used 2 layers of 110 gsm fiberglass cloth in epoxy resin to make my light weight mandrel. The mast was only 6 m long and I used a single interum support. A larger mast would probably need more glass or more interum support. The packing tape was hard to get off the Aluminum mast later. If the mast shape allows, I would just wrap release ply over it instead.
I attached a picture of an off-cut of the carbon mast I built using this method.
