This presentation discusses Hall Spars's method of manufacturing carbon fiber masts for sailing yachits. Mast design principles are discussed and a brief historical review of mast materials is presented including the evolution of composites in yacht masts. A comparison of wood and metal mast engineering properties is made with carbon fiber mast properties. The significant sailing yacht performance advances realized with autoclave- cured prepreg carbon masts versus masts of heretofore conventional materials are discussed. A brief engineering comparison of autoclave curing vs. vacuum bag curing of prepreg yacht mast laminates is also presented. The present state of the economic viability of composite spars is discussed followed by a commercial projection of the future of carbon composite yacht masts.
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