Hi everyone. I found a couple of the old Naish Lift sails that are brand new yet, never seen daylight. I ordered the 4.7 Lift about a month ago and used it on an RDM 370 mast, which it calls for, and it seems to be an amazing sail. I was also able to order the 5.7 Lift from the same store on Thursday. The 5.7 requires an RDM 400 mast, but I don't have one. I have a friend who has extra RDM 430 masts and he offered me one that he never uses. He said I could just cut 30cm off the bottom and use it that way. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this? I am willing to by a 400 mast, but having just picked up my new Reef Warrior board and two new sails, I'd rather go cheap on the mast if possible. I am a bigger guy at 6'4" and 225lbs, so if cutting it makes it a bit stiffer , would that be bad? Casey (the guy who built my board), recommends a No Limitz original skinny or the Naish 400 for the 5.7.
Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.
Maybe you can get a 30 extension for the 370 so you can use both sails with the same mast.
Cutting the bottom section is risky for two reasons. First, the taper may be enough that an extension won't fit properly if you ever try to use it on a larger setup. Second, the Naish line tend to prefer masts at the hard-top end of the CC spectrum and trimming from the base will make the bend more flex-top.
I think I'd inclined to just put an extension in the 370. The Lift is designed as a low-tension light wind powerhouse so the floppy feel shouldn't be too horrible. If you do trim the 430, though, maybe trim 20cm off the top and 10 off the base.
Appreciate the input. I'm not really eager to cut down a good mast and potentially ruin it. If a 370 will work, maybe I'll just look for a 90-100% carbon and buy it. I did find an RDM 400 Chinook, 100% carbon mast for $200 plus shipping, so that's not so bad. I'd prefer having masts that can be used over multiple sails though, which is why I'd rather get another 370.
I have done it. I cut a 490 down to about 470. It worked OK. It was an older mast so I was willing to try it. You need to make sure the mast base will still fit if you cut the bottom. Also, the mast is reinforced for the boom and you could find that your boom is no longer over the reinforced part.
If it's an older mast that you don't care about then cut, you can safely remove 10 cm from the bottom and some from the top but taking a full 30cm will probably not feel right. Buy the Chinook.
Select to expand quoteNS320 said..
I have done it. I cut a 490 down to about 470. It worked OK. It was an older mast so I was willing to try it. You need to make sure the mast base will still fit if you cut the bottom. Also, the mast is reinforced for the boom and you could find that your boom is no longer over the reinforced part.
Good point. I'm thinking I should just order the correct size. 
So my brand new 2018 5.7 Lift came yesterday. Today got it out and was going to rig it on my RDM 370, but then I noticed the nylon loop at the top of the sail and remembered that to rig the 4.7 on the 370, I had to take the slack out of the loop at the top. I left it alone on the 5.7 and slid the 430 mast in and put the extension at around 4cm and it seems to look just fine. Obviously on the water may be a bit of a different story, but on land it seems ok.
Thoughts?
Select to expand quoteexcav8ter said..
So my brand new 2018 5.7 Lift came yesterday. Today got it out and was going to rig it on my RDM 370, but then I noticed the nylon loop at the top of the sail and remembered that to rig the 4.7 on the 370, I had to take the slack out of the loop at the top. I left it alone on the 5.7 and slid the 430 mast in and put the extension at around 4cm and it seems to look just fine. Obviously on the water may be a bit of a different story, but on land it seems ok.
Thoughts?
It will feel a lot stiffer than a shorter softer mast. It will also become overpowered sooner than on a shorter softer mast . So by using a longer stiffer mast you are effectively powering the sail up if coming from shorter mast. It will also feel heavier and will not rig to the designed shape so will not work how it was designed to. Having said this, a number of people ,including myself, have used and use non compatible masts for foiling with no complaints. I've also had fun sessions using non compatible cut down masts.
Ive only got one compatible mast that I haven't used yet for my sail quiver , so can't give my opinion as to the difference between using compatible and non compatible masts for foiling. I wouldn't mind actually hearing other people re their experience and thoughts on this. I want to get compatible 100% carbon masts for my quiver at some stage. Will probably be when I go back to work.
Select to expand quoteSambo # said..excav8ter said..
So my brand new 2018 5.7 Lift came yesterday. Today got it out and was going to rig it on my RDM 370, but then I noticed the nylon loop at the top of the sail and remembered that to rig the 4.7 on the 370, I had to take the slack out of the loop at the top. I left it alone on the 5.7 and slid the 430 mast in and put the extension at around 4cm and it seems to look just fine. Obviously on the water may be a bit of a different story, but on land it seems ok.
Thoughts?
It will feel a lot stiffer than a shorter softer mast. It will also become overpowered sooner than on a shorter softer mast . So by using a longer stiffer mast you are effectively powering the sail up if coming from shorter mast. It will also feel heavier and will not rig to the designed shape so will not work how it was designed to. Having said this, a number of people ,including myself, have used and use non compatible masts for foiling with no complaints. I've also had fun sessions using non compatible cut down masts.
Ive only got one compatible mast that I haven't used yet for my sail quiver , so can't give my opinion as to the difference between using compatible and non compatible masts for foiling. I wouldn't mind actually hearing other people re their experience and thoughts on this. I want to get compatible 100% carbon masts for my quiver at some stage. Will probably be when I go back to work.
Still planning on getting the correct mast. Just figured i should give it a try and see how it goes. Might even try it on my 370 with 32cm of extension.
Looks to me like wants about 3cm more downhaul (and more outhaul once you've done that) but otherwise that's going to perform exactly the same as if you'd trimmed that much off the mast top, and should work ok, although in a narrower range than it would on the correct mast. Go sail.
If it overpowers completely in gusts, and is super-twitchy, then you can reduce the length of the adjustable top and add some extension at the bottom. This will put the sail on a softer section of the mast and allow it to breathe more. It'll look a little old-fashioned and you won't be able to close the gap but how often do you close the gap when free-foiling anyway?
Select to expand quoteAwalkspoiled said..
Looks to me like wants about 3cm more downhaul (and more outhaul once you've done that) but otherwise that's going to perform exactly the same as if you'd trimmed that much off the mast top, and should work ok, although in a narrower range than it would on the correct mast. Go sail.
If it overpowers completely in gusts, and is super-twitchy, then you can reduce the length of the adjustable top and add some extension at the bottom. This will put the sail on a softer section of the mast and allow it to breathe more. It'll look a little old-fashioned and you won't be able to close the gap but how often do you close the gap when free-foiling anyway?
Thanks! I knew it would probably need more downhaul, but I was just excited that I may be able to use it today, so I quickly rigged it up to see how it looks. I am not to good at the details of rigging and understanding how to "properly" rig. I get excited to get out and just rig and go. With the Lift sails, Casey Treichler usually rides them with, as he puts it, negative out haul and negative down haul for maximum power in light conditions. I used my 4.7 two weeks ago and was stunned by how powerful it was.
Used the 430 last night. Seemed to work just fine. It's probably not perfect, but I am not that worried about it, as long as it works out for me to use it until I get a 400.
