Bend in mast

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John Moore

I would like to hear from Hunter Legend 35.5 owners about the bend in the mast: how many degrees specifically, and their experience with the bend and without the bend. Thanks and regards, jrm
 
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Justin Wolfe

Depends on the conditions

Ideally you would have an adjustable backstay that would allow you to have a straight mast in light air and bend in strong breeze. If you always sail in certain conditions you can and don't have a backstay adjuster you can just set it to suit your conditions. One point though. The 35.5 has one of highest Sail Area/Displacement ratios of any Hunter. This means it overpowers sooner than some. I liked some significant mast bend in our boat to handle the strong breeze better even though I was giving up a little speed in light air. Also more backstay tension and more mast bend should help tighten the forestay which I think this boat needs. Tight uppers help too. Even with both backstay and uppers tight I still never got the forestay as tight as I would have liked. Principles involved... As you bend your mast the middle of the mainsail gets flatter creating less lift and heeling force. The boat we'll heel less, but not have as much power for light air. If you don't have an adjustable backstay its a compromise. Pick the bend that matches your conditions. Don't be afraid of the bend. I haven't been on my 35.5 for two years (long story), but I think we had at least six inches of pre bend in the mast. Not to be confused with mast rake by the way...
 
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Charlie Singmaster

Mast Pre-bend

I've never measured it however, I estimate the prebend I have set in my 1994, 35.5 mast is about 4-6 inches. I've sailed the boat going on 6 years now (3 years on San Francisco Bay and 2+ here in SW FL) and am still very happy with its performance.
 
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Ron B

35.5 Mast Bend

When I bought my 35.5 I had the same questions about the bend in the mast. I have several Hunters for dock mates and they have the same bend. One of my neighbors with a 37.5 told me that when they installed the furling system for their main on their mast they had to make sure the back side of the mast was straight. It still looks bent to me, but if you look close you'll see that the front of the mast starts tapering towards the top and gives the illusion that the mast is bent. That's what I've been told. Frankly, it still looks bent to me.
 
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