Heron Mast Review Project - Submissions Sought

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Sep 20, 2022, 11:58:06 PM9/20/22

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Mast Review Project

As many Heron sailors may know, there has been some uncertainty about the ongoing commercial supply of aluminium tips for Heron masts in Australia. This is because we rely on a single manufacturer whose main business is evolving away from the production of dinghy spars. Although there are some 30 mast tips in stock, the management committee of the NHSAA has set up a working group to evaluate the options to secure the supply of masts for the longer term. This working group is being led by the chairperson of the measurement committee, Paul Armstrong. (For those of you who don’t know already, there are two of us!)

In order to get as much input as possible, the working group is inviting submissions from all Heron sailors about the options that should be considered and/or evaluated.

Terms of reference

The management committee strongly believes that any changes to mast technology and/or rules must be consistent with the overall ethos of the class in Australia. In order to meet this objective, we have set the following guidelines to be followed during this project:

o A proposed new mast should be able to be commercially produced, preferably from off the shelf components.

o It would also be preferable for new masts to be able to be assembled by individual owners.

o The commercial cost of a new mast should be comparable to the cost of today’s all aluminium masts (approx. $800 for a blank with track and $1500 fully rigged).

o Alternative materials (i.e. other than aluminium, timber and fibreglass) can be considered including carbon fibre.

o The use of exotic materials (other than carbon fibre) and/or unique cross sections that would only be used in the Heron should be avoided.

o Any proposed changes must result in similar performance characteristics to existing masts.

Submissions

It would help if your suggestions contain sufficient technical and other details for the working group to consider the suggestion without too much further research. Please send your submissions to Paul Armstrong at measuremen...@heronsailing.com.au

Current proposals

The working group is already considering a number of options including the use of fibreglass tips reinforced with carbon fibre to make them stiffer than the previous fibreglass tips that have been available for some time. We anticipate a limited trial of these tips to be announced shortly.

Timeframe

Although the supply of masts is secure for the immediate future, the committee is of the opinion that any alternatives should be evaluated and an alternative selected by the beginning of the 2023/24 season. This will mean having prototypes ready for test during the coming season.