Armstrong Performance Foil Masts

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. Proprietary titanium M7 mast top hardware follows suit with a strong, light and drag reducing 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:

• By bringing the foil closer to 0 degrees when the board is in the water, drag is reduced which makes takeoffs easier.
• Touching down at speed or landing a jump is more forgiving and there’s less chance of crashing headfirst over the board.
• By lifting the board nose slightly (1 degree = 17.46mm/m), mast rake makes it easier to ride fast without catching the nose at steep riding angles.

Simply put, the Performance Mast range takes the sublime Armstrong feeling further than ever.