Carbon Fiber Masts and Booms for Sailboats and Yachts
A mast is one of the most important structural components on a sailboat. The mast on a boat supports the sail plan, transfers sailing loads to the hull, and plays a major role in speed, stability, and performance. Forte manufactures custom carbon fiber masts and booms for sailboats, racing yachts, cruising boats, and OEM marine manufacturers seeking stronger, lighter, and longer-lasting alternatives to traditional aluminum spars.
Improve sailing performance
With Forte’s super durable carbon masts and booms
Forte masts and booms are manufactured using 4-Axis Continuous Fiber Braided Technology originally developed for military applications requiring “super durability” – the ability to withstand bullet shots and to resist spread of damage.
Why Buy A Forte Carbon Fiber Mast?
Forte also uses proprietary process control computers to strategically place and braid each carbon fiber strand directly onto a precisely engineered mandrel. The finished mast is then consolidated and cured at high temperature.
Save Weight Aloft
A Forte carbon fiber mast weighs about half that of an aluminum mast. Weight savings aloft translates into increased righting moment and reduced pitching moment. In heavier winds, your boat will pitch less in chop. Increased righting moment means you can keep more sail up and/or sail with less crew under any heavier conditions.
For many sailboats and yachts, reducing weight at the top of the mast improves stability and responsiveness. A lighter mast on a sailboat helps reduce heeling, improves balance, and contributes to faster overall performance.
Transfer Power Efficiently
Power created by your sails is transferred by your mast to your hull. Softer aluminum masts lose some of this power because of bending, flexing and vibration. Due to greater strength and stiffness, a carbon fiber mast efficiently transfers the power from the wind into forward sailing momentum for greater speed.
Because carbon fiber is significantly stiffer than aluminum, a carbon fibre yacht mast transfers sail loads more efficiently into forward motion while minimizing unwanted flex and vibration.
Affordable
Yes a carbon mast can be affordable! Our automated manufacturing process allows us to manufacture carbon spars with less hands-on labor than other manufacturers. This means lower cost for you. Also, with some aluminum extrusions becoming scarce along with the labor to have the extrusion tapered…You may be surprised how affordable a Forte carbon spar can be.
Double Life Expectancy
Carbon fiber masts require less maintenance than aluminum masts; carbon fiber does not corrode, and paint flaking associated with aluminum masts does not occur. And, because softer (i.e., lower modulus) aluminum masts are subject to greater fatigue than carbon fiber masts, a Forte carbon fiber mast has at least double the life expectancy.
What is a mast on a boat?
The mast of a boat is the vertical spar that supports the sails and rigging. On a sailboat, the mast works together with the boom, standing rigging, and sails to convert wind energy into forward motion.
Traditional boat masts are often built from aluminum, while modern performance vessels increasingly use carbon fiber masts because they offer substantial weight savings, greater stiffness, improved durability, and superior sailing performance.
Whether you’re upgrading a cruising sailboat, building a racing yacht, or replacing an aging mast, choosing the right mast design can significantly impact handling, efficiency, and safety on the water.
Meeting Every Requirement
Forte carbon fiber masts are engineered to meet your exact requirements. Your mast can be built straight or tapered, to your specified weight or stiffness. Localized reinforcements (additional material) are laminated into the spar at areas of high stress and locations of any hardware or holes in the spar wall.
Spars can be ordered as a blank (bare carbon tubing) or a fully finished and painted mast.
A mast is the primary vertical spar that supports a sailboat’s sails and rigging. It transfers wind-generated forces into the hull to propel the vessel.
Carbon fiber masts are lighter, stiffer, corrosion-resistant, and typically last longer than aluminum masts while improving sailing performance.
A Forte carbon fiber mast typically weighs about half as much as a comparable aluminum mast.
Yes. Forte designs and manufactures custom carbon fibre yacht masts engineered to meet specific performance, stiffness, weight, and dimensional requirements.
Absolutely. Carbon fiber masts benefit both cruising and racing sailboats by improving stability, reducing maintenance requirements, and increasing efficiency.
Ready to Upgrade Your Boat’s Mast?
Whether you’re replacing an aging aluminum mast, designing a new sailboat,
or looking for a high-performance carbon fibre yacht mast, Forte can help.
I would like to thank you, Tony and all the crew at Forte for the great service and excellent product. As you know, we were without a supplier for a mast, spirit and spinnaker pole for the new Rocket, and your company was the only one with a “can do!!”attitude. Right from helping us to pick the correct mandrel, creating the laminate schedule, to helping us construct the first mast, you went beyond the call of duty. We were nervous that the mast would be too stiff, and had lots of “nay sayers”, but when we set the rig up and went for our first sail, it was just what we were looking for!! Keep up the great work!!
Alan Barnes - Rocket Boats
Before and during the 2002/2003 Around Alone race, we broke every type and every brand of sail batten you can imagine. This is one thing about Ocean Planet’s unstayed (freestanding) mast, that it is very tough on battens. However, for the end of the Around Alone and for the Vendee, we are using custom braided S-glass/carbon fiber battens by Forte… Forte battens are incredible, and it is so nice not to have to worry about battens anymore.
Bruce Schwab - Skipper Ocean Planet
My Forte mast is fantastic. It is light and extremely strong… two gales in the Bay of Biscay and three flying gybes (thanks to autopilot malfunctions) with the spinnaker up, and each time it came through unscathed. ACADIA Once I gybed in 30 knots of wind 2 miles from the finish with a full main and broke one of the running backstays, so no backstays on downwind… no problems.
Clay Burkhalter - Team Acadia
Thanks for the awesome new mast for Strummer. It’s made a huge difference; she’s a much better boat, definitely stiffer and faster. We took 2nd (Class IV) in this year’s (2007) Bermuda 1-2. Lots of days in the 25-30 knot range. No problems with the rig at all.
Louis Meyer Strummer — Hinkley Pilot
Strong, light and fairly priced ~ a good value! That’s what our clients tell us about their Forte poles. And we appreciate having a reliable source of spinnaker poles to meet our clients’ expectations.
Lisa Vizzini - Port Townsend Rigging
The carbon fiber tubing we use in the Mosquito Air Helicopter has proven to be very reliable and strong. Forte offers a good product at a very reasonable price.
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