How beefy is the H16 mast? (ali.)

I'm sure most of you have seen my thread about comptips and whatnot. Well, considering the lowest we'll be able to get down to is 40lb's over weight, I figure I might as well make it a bit more exciting.

So how would the tip of an ali mast stand up to a kite? I'm thinking somethingat least 3/4 of the way up, but what about masthead? Why don't the fast cats use masthead kites? I bet an F18 kite would fit if I put the hoist right at the masthead, or would I want something fuller?

I'll be making my own pole/snuffer/gear so I don't need anything specific.

Thanks.

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"I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less." Augustus 'Gus' McCrae

I've only spoken (not seen in person) with a fellow running an old N20 kite on his 16 (loves it). Would have to assume it's awfully close to the top.

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hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

Well, the hoist height on my Nacra 20 mast is about 28 feet up, and since a 16 mast is only 26 feet or so...it'd have to be at the very top, and a long spin pole to boot (or a very loose luff).
Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to spinnakers. On my old Nacra 6.0, I had a 425 sq ft. spin that was massive, but was much slower than the 350 sq ft. NE chute for the Nacra 6.0. Even now, my Nacra 20 spinnaker is only 270 sq ft, and is much faster than any of the larger 6.0 chutes. Stacking sails on a boat will not necessarily make it go faster.




[ok, I am waiting for MBounds to come in here and correct me on something]

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Trey Brown
www.velocitysailing.com
2006 N20 1017
1998 H16 102698
www.sunjammers.com ftw!

The class rules for the 16 spinnaker modification (available here, pages 37 and 38 ) shows that the halyard pivot point is 6865 mm (22' 6.25") above the mast base.

The class legal spin is 17.65 sq. m (190 sq. ft.)

So I'm looking for something about 200 ft2 and flat... Does anyone know of any used kites in the states or any boats whose kites fit that description?

Does anyone know the measurements of the class kites?

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"I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less." Augustus 'Gus' McCrae