Armstrong 795 Performance Mast

The Performance Mast range is a clean-sheet design that takes the Armstrong feeling riders know and love to new heights. Sophisticated engineering and top shelf Toray high modulus carbon give these masts a unique combination of efficiency, stiffness and control at speed. Collaborating with a team of America’s Cup foil engineers, we set out to develop a high performance mast to take us into the future. Our design goal called for a unique blend of strength, stiffness, drag and light weight. Combining CFD analysis with expert insight allowed us to tune each section of the mast from baseplate to fuselage connection for maximum efficiency. Structural analysis shows that a combination of both high modulus (HM) and intermediate modulus (IM) carbon fibers best distributes loads throughout various sections of the mast. HM's stiffness minimizes flex in the mast's central strut area and IM's high tensile strength caters to the complex shapes of the top plate and fuselage connection. The result is a top of the line mast consisting of top shelf materials, new mast section, refined baseplate, reduced drag fuselage connection and new construction method. New proprietary titanium M7 mast top hardware follows suit with a strong and lightweight connection to the board. These masts are designed with a mast rake angle. This fine tunes the board angle relative to the foil for a more comfortable and forgiving ride. It does not change the lifting force or balance of the foil itself, and it does not impact the foil’s “foot pressure” bias front or back. Board rocker also directly determines effective mast rake – boards from different brands have a variety of different rocker lines which influence rake angle – and more rocker in the rear half of board effectively increases mast rake. The 1 degree of rake we’ve placed specifically into the top of the Performance Mast shape provides three main benefits by adjusting the board relative to the foil underwater: See more details at Armstrong