During 1999 Jim Hunt asked Seldén for a section stiffer than our ‘C’ section up to the hounds, but flexible fore and aft and stiff sideways in the topmast. The objective was to control sail shape through the wind range with kicker tension, but ensure that the mast stays straight sideways for downwind and medium wind speed.
The Seldén Cumulus Solo mast achieves these features through the special double topmast taper, which gives minimum fore/aft size without compromising sideways stiffness.
The Cumulus mast is ideally suited to sailors 77kg and above and has won every National and World Championships since its design. The C-sleeved mast, pioneered by Ken Falcon, is still the definitive Solo mast for the sailors 77kg and less.
However, 2007 saw in the introduction of the D+ as a third option along side the existing highly competitive Cumulus and C-sleeved masts. Once again working alongside Jim Hunt, the main force behind our Cumulus rig, the D+ was developed as a mast that could offer similar characteristics to the Cumulus while offering a more dynamic response above the hounds and was first introduced with the North Technora T75 on the new prototype Boon FRP Solo.
The D+ has been developed with a front weld taper allowing for greater sideways response but due to the stiffer section it still maintains the downwind performance associated with the Cumulus. D+ is designed as another option for sailors weighing 77kg and above, delivering greater power low down.
The new rig will be easier to use in choppy water and gusty conditions where a responsive rig can maximise performance whilst minimising the amount of manual input from the sailor. The future potential of the rig was shown at the 2007 National Championship where Jim sailed to 3rd powered by a D+. In 2008 this rig went on to win the Spring Championships at Oxford, Winter Championships at Grafham, the Nations Trophy in Holland and the UK National Championships in Torbay, paired with the outstanding North Technora T75 at all the above events.
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Picture above;
shows the complete boat sporting a D+ section and a T75K Technora Sail. This combination has proved a great success with wins at the 2008 Winter Championships, 2008 Spring Championships, the 2008 Dutch Nations Trophy, the 2008 National Championships and the Weymouth Pre- champs 2008. |
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