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Spars

We stock a large range of materials suitable for masts. They are listed in this section. These materials may also be used for booms.

If you prefer to purchase your booms as kits of parts, or as completed booms, please go the the BOOMS section of this website.

If you prefer to purchase your rig as a kit of parts, or as a completed rig, please go to the RIG KITS section of this website.

Boom kits and rig kits comprise carefully co-ordinated parts that have been optimised over the years to suit the applications they are intended for. In addition they are supplied with plans and instructions.

However you may prefer to design your own rig based on these spar materials. Rigging plans are available and are listed under the MISC/PLANS section of this website.

Since 1978 SAILSetc has been supplying mast sections known as GROOVY mast section. In addition we supply round tubes. Both types are available in high stiffness carbon and aluminium alloy.Graphic of groovy spar

The GROOVY spar section is illustrated to the right (for spar codes AG and CG).


Bulk orders

Spar section stiffness
Stiffness of carbon fibre
Stiffness of aluminium alloy
Stiffness of SAILSetc spar sections
Use of carbon tubes

Product codes

The codes used for the spars indicate the material, the type of material, the diameter and the length.

The first letter indicates the material as follows:

A        Aluminium alloy
C       Carbon

The second letter indicates the type of spar section as follows:

R        Round
G       Groovy

The numbers indicate the outside diameter as follows:

064    6.4 mm
080    8.0 mm
100    10.0 mm
110    11.0 mm
111    11.1 mm
120    12.0 mm
127    12.7 mm
128    12.8 mm
140    14.0 mm
145    14.5 mm
165    16.5 mm
180    18.0 mm
190    19.0 mm
222    22.2 mm

The last letter of the code indicates the length of the spar material as follows:

A        2500 mm
B        2000 mm
C       1500 mm
D       1250 mm
E        1000 mm
F        500 mm

Spar material AR190 and AR222 is provided in lengths cut to your requirements, priced per metre.

Bulk orders
We are always pleased to quote for larger quantities (generally 40 metres or more) of any mix of spar materials delivered to one address.

Spar section stiffness
The stiffness of a spar section (the EI value) is equal to the stiffness of the material itself (the E value) Graphic of groovy sparmultiplied by the stiffness of the section shape (the I value).
The stiffness of the material, E, is normally quoted in Giga Pascals (GPa) which is a unit of pressure.
The stiffness of the spar section, I,  is entirely dependent on the size and shape of the section.

Stiffness of carbon fibre
For carbon fibres themselves the stiffness varies from 235 GPa to 550 GPa. Normal carbon fibres are what is known as  ‘High Strength’ carbon and these have a stiffness of 235. Our carbon tubes are made of High Modulus fibres which have a stiffness typically of 400 GPa. These are more costly than High Strength fibres but the increase in spar stiffness is attractive and worthwhile. Fibres stiffer than 400 GPa are currently too costly to consider using.
However the stiffness of the carbon/resin matrix will be lowered in proportion to the amount of resin that is mixed with the carbon fibres.  For example a matrix of 400 GPa modulus carbon with 50% resin by volume will have an effective stiffness of 200 GPa. The stiffness of our carbon tubes is further enhanced by using a very low resin content.
SAILSetc carbon tubes (except the 18 mm diameter tube) are approximately 2 to 3 times as stiff as commonly available kites tubes which are made of high strength carbon and have a high resin content.

Stiffness of aluminium alloy
The stiffness of aluminium alloy is virtually constant across the range of alloys permitted for use in the International One Metre Class at 70 GPa. This is true regardless of the hardness (temper) of the alloy which may vary considerably. Hardness describes how difficult it is to permanently bend a material and is a property that can be varied by treating the alloy with heat or by repeatedly bending it (work hardening). The ultra-hard alloy used for our headsail booms is so hard that it is impossible to add any permanent bend to the tubes as they break first. Aluminium that has not been hardened at all is extremely soft and would not be useful for spars. Our aluminium spar material is hardened sufficiently to allow permanently bending it when bent a lot more than can happen during normal use. Hence it is possible to add pre-bend by bending the tube much more than will happen during normal use.

Stiffness of SAILSetc spar sections

Material
Type
Diameter
Wall
Weight
Sideways
Fore & aft 
of section
mm
thickness
per metre
stiffness
stiffness
mm
grams
EIxx
EIyy
Aluminium alloy Round 6.4 0.7 34 3.6 3.6
Round 11 0.6 53 19 19
Round 12.8 0.5 52 25 25
Round 19 0.9 140 147 147
Round 22.2 0.9 160 240 240
Aluminium alloy GROOVY 11.1 0.5 58 21 18
GROOVY 12.7 0.6 70 30 27
GROOVY 14.5 0.75 95 55 50
Carbon Round 8 1 35 25 25
Round 10 1 44 52 52
Round 12 1 54 106 106
Round 14 1 64 171 171
Round 16.5 1.25 93 330 330
Round 18 1 80 200 200
Carbon GROOVY 10.5 0.9 53 67 61
GROOVY 12.7 1 73 121 98

Use of carbon tubes
When working with carbon tubes you should take the following precautions:
Avoid breathing the dust by using a dust mask, by working the material wetted with a little water, or by using a vacuum cleaner with a micro filter.
Avoid getting splinters in your skin by wearing latex gloves and by handling the tubes with care.
Care in their use prevents the likelihood of splitting. Overlap the joints between tubes of different diameters by four times the diameter of the smaller tube and reinforce where there are high local loads by wrapping the outside with carbon tow or by bonding a piece of smaller tube inside the larger tube.

 


 
Ref
Description
  Price
  RP 05 downloadable document    
alloy GROOVY
 
AG111B
Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 58 grams/metre, 1900 mm long (2000 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 19.75
 
AG111C
Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 58 grams/metre, 1400 mm long (1500 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 15.50
 
AG111E
Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 58 grams/metre, 1000 mm long (end 50 mm may be imperfect) 11.00
 
AG111F
Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 58 grams/metre, 500 mm long 4.00
 
AG127B
Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 70 grams/metre, 1900 mm long (2000 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 23.75
 
AG127C
Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 70 grams/metre, 1400 mm long (1500 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 18.50
 
AG127E
Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 70 grams/metre, 1000 mm long (end 50 mm may be imperfect) 13.00
 
AG127F
Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 70 grams/metre, 500 mm long 4.50
 
AG145A
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 2400 mm long (2500 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 28.75
 
AG145B
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 1900 mm long (2000 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 26.00
 
AG145C
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 1400 mm long (1500 mm supplied but end 50 mm may be imperfect) 23.00
 
AG145D
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 1250 mm long (end 50 mm may be imperfect) 14.50
 
AG145E
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 1000 mm long (end 50 mm may be imperfect) 13.00
 
AG145F
Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia
Anodised aluminium GROOVY, 95 grams/metre, 500 mm long 4.75
alloy round
 
AR064B
Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.7 mm wall thickness, 34 grams/metre, 2000 mm 5.75
  AR064C Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.7 mm wall thickness, 34 grams/metre, 1500 mm 4.50
 
AR064E
Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.7 mm wall thickness, 34 grams/metre, 1000 mm 3.00
 
AR064F
Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.7 mm wall thickness, 34 grams/metre, 500 mm 1.75
 
AR110B
Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.6 mm wall thickness, 53 grams/metre, 2000 mm 16.25
  AR110C Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.6 mm wall thickness, 53 grams/metre, 1500 mm 12.00
 
AR110E
Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.6 mm wall thickness, 53 grams/metre, 1000 mm 8.50
 
AR110F
Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.6 mm wall thickness, 53 grams/metre, 500 mm 4.50
 
AR128B
Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.5 mm wall thickness, 52 grams/metre, 2000 mm 17.75
  AR128C Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.5mm wall thickness, 52 grams/metre, 1500 mm 13.25
 
AR128E
Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.5 mm wall thickness, 52 grams/metre, 1000 mm 9.25
 
AR128F
Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia
Anodised aluminium round tube, 0.5 mm wall thickness, 52 grams/metre, 500 mm 5.00
 
AR064
Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia
Plain aluminium round tube - NOT ANODISED, 0.7 mm wall thickness, 34 grams/metre, price per metre, maximum length 2000 mm 3.00
 
AR190
Alloy round, 19.0 mm (3/4 in) dia
Plain aluminium round tube, 0.9 mm wall thickness, 150 grams/metre, price per metre, maximum length 2000 mm 17.50
 
AR222
Alloy round, 22.2 mm (7/8 in) dia
Plain aluminium round tube, 1.2 mm wall thickness, 225 grams/metre, price per metre, maximum length 2000 mm 25.00
carbon GROOVY
 
CG105B
Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 53 grams/metre, 2000 mm long 58.50
 
CG105C
Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 53 grams/metre, 1500 mm long 46.75
 
CG105D
Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 53 grams/metre, 1250 mm long 38.00
 
CG105E
Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 53 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 31.00
 
CG105F
Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 53 grams/metre, 500 mm long 11.75
 
CG127A
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
2400 mm (actual 2500 mm, 50 mm each end may be imperfect) 76.50
 
CG127B
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 73 grams/metre, 2000 mm long 63.25
 
CG127C
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 73 grams/metre, 1500 mm long 48.00
 
CG127D
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 73 grams/metre, 1250 mm long 40.00
 
CG127E
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 73 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 25.00
 
CG127F
Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia
Carbon GROOVY, 73 grams/metre, 500 mm long 11.50
carbon round
 
CR080E
Carbon fibre round, 8 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 35 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 22.25
 
CR080F
Carbon fibre round, 8 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 35 grams/metre, 500 mm long 11.50
 
CR100E
Carbon fibre round, 10 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 44 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 25.50
 
CR100F
Carbon fibre round, 10 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 44 grams/metre, 500 mm long 13.25
 
CR120E
Carbon fibre round, 12 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 54 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 28.00
 
CR120F
Carbon fibre round, 12 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 54 grams/metre, 500 mm long 14.50
 
CR140E
Carbon fibre round, 14 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 64 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 34.25
 
CR140F
Carbon fibre round, 14 mm dia
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 64 grams/metre, 500 mm long 17.50
  CR165E Carbon fibre round, 16.5 mm dia High modulus carbon round tube, 1.25 mm wall thickness, 93 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 44.50
  CR165F Carbon fibre round, 16.5 mm dia High modulus carbon round tube, 1.25 mm wall thickness, 93 grams/metre, 500 mm long  22.50
  CR180E Carbon fibre round, 18 mm dia Carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 85 grams/metre, 1000 mm long. This tube is intended for use as the lower section of a mast for an A Class where 16 mm and 14 mm will be used for the upper sections. The stiffness is actually less than for our 16 mm tube and this is because this tube is made of normal carbon rather than high modulus carbon. It can be reinforced internally in way of the gooseneck by inserting a piece of 16 mm diameter tube. Used in this way it will provide a light but sturdy mast with higher stiffness higher up suitable for heavier and more stable A Class designs. 41.50
carbon tapered
 
CR008T
Carbon fibre tapered tube, 8.5 mm to 5.7 mm diameter
High modulus carbon round tube, 1 mm wall thickness, 35 grams/metre, 1000 mm long 17.50
 
CR120T
Carbon fibre tapered tube, 12 mm to 12 x 5 mm 1400 mm of 12 mm diameter tube with a 400 mm tapered section going to 12 x 5 mm at the top. Designed to be the upper section of a mast for a Marblehead or 10 Rater with 1 metre of 14 mm diameter round tube for the lower section. High fore and aft stiffness in the upper section combined with low windage. This tube has potential for shroudless rigs too. 72.00
 
CR140T
Carbon fibre tapered tube, 14 mm to 14 x 5 mm 1400 mm of 14 mm diameter tube with a 600 mm tapered section going to 14 x 5 mm at the top. Designed to be the upper section of a mast for a 10 Rater or A Class with 1 metre of 16 mm diameter round tube for the lower section. High fore and aft stiffness in the upper section combined with low windage. This tube has potential for shroudless rigs too. 72.00
 
CR140X
Carbon fibre tapered tube, 14 mm to 14 x 5 mm - new 600 mm long. Designed to be the upper section of a mast for an A Class with 1 metre of 16 mm and 1 metre of 18 mm diameter round tubes for the lower sections. High fore and aft stiffness in the upper section combined with low windage. 40.00

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All prices are in GBP and include VAT at 20%.
For prices outside Europe - deduct 16.67%.

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