[BITList] A bit over the top?

[John Feltham]

http://gcaptain.com/future-fibres-giant-carbon-mast-will-carry-largest-sail-ever-made/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gcaptain+%28gCaptain.com%29

Future Fibres’ Giant Carbon Mast Will Carry Largest Sail Ever Made


Luxury yacht builder Perini Navi completed the mast stepping operation today of Perseus3 a 60 meter sloop with one of the tallest masts in the world.

Built of carbon fiber by Future Fibres, this 75.8m, 16.4 ton mast is among the top three tallest masts in the world and will soon fly the world’s largest sail, a 2,602 square meter A2 asymmetrical spinnaker.

Future Fibres notes that 4,752 kilometers of carbon fiber was used to make the rigging which also includes a 23.4m carbon fiber pre-preg furling boom, carbon fiber cap stays and diagonals, as well as fore and aft stays made of a combination of Carbon, PBO and Kevlar.

Doyle sailmakers spent 6,000 hours designing the 10,000 square meter sail inventory, an area which is 1000 square meters larger than the playing field at NRG Stadium, or half the size of the MCG in Melbourne.  Doyle notes the A2 is comprised of 3,200 yards of Dyneema and Polyester fabric.

The dimensions of the asymmetricals and the Code 0 are such that the fabric available on the market was not capable of providing the necessary characteristics of strength and lightness, therefore special new fabrics were created after extensive R&D activities.  Robbie Doyle notes this sail package “is one of the most unique and challenging ever created.”

All images courtesy of Perini Navi:









Future Fibres commented on the weight optimization of the huge carbon mast saying, “we have managed to produce a tube with a perfect exterior surface and a flawless Clearcote gloss Carbon finish with zero filler – which can add up to 3 per cent to the weight of a mast.”

Handling the jibs are a pair of primary winches that can pull a maximum of 30 tons and have a maximum lines speed of 40 meters per second.

The rig was installed at the Perini Navi facility in La Spezia, Italy

Technical Features

Mast: 75.8m Carbon Fibre by Future Fibres
Boom: 23.4m Carbon Fibre by Future Fibres
Standing rig: Lateral Rigging in Carbon Fibre
Aft and Fore Stays in Carbon+PBO+Kevlar
Sail Inventory:

Main Sail 808 m2 – includes 1,140,000 meters of Carbon and Technora fibers
The mast features 4 main sail locks: 1 full hoist + 3 reefs
Batten car system
Cunningham ram
Reacher 1,160 m2
Blade 706 m2 with carbon vertical battens
Staysail 370 m2 – On soft hanks and removable torque cable
Code 0 1,804 m2 – on the biggest torque cable TDF ever built by Future Fibres
A2 2,602 m2
A3 2,173 m2
Spinnaker Stay sail 721 m2


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