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.

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) multiplied 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

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		19.75
	AG111C	Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia		15.50
	AG111E	Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia		11.00
	AG111F	Alloy groovy, 11.1 mm dia		4.00
	AG127B	Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia		23.75
	AG127C	Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia		18.50
	AG127E	Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia		13.00
	AG127F	Alloy groovy, 12.7 mm dia		4.50
	AG145A	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		28.75
	AG145B	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		26.00
	AG145C	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		23.00
	AG145D	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		14.50
	AG145E	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		13.00
	AG145F	Alloy groovy, 14.5 mm dia		4.75
alloy round
	AR064B	Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia		5.75
	AR064C	Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia		4.50
	AR064E	Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia		3.00
	AR064F	Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia		1.75
	AR110B	Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia		16.25
	AR110C	Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia		12.00
	AR110E	Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia		8.50
	AR110F	Alloy round, 11.0 mm (7/16 in) dia		4.50
	AR128B	Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia		17.75
	AR128C	Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia		13.25
	AR128E	Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia		9.25
	AR128F	Alloy round, 12.8 mm (1/2 in) dia		5.00
	AR064	Alloy round, 6.4 mm (1/4 in) dia		3.00
	AR190	Alloy round, 19.0 mm (3/4 in) dia		17.50
	AR222	Alloy round, 22.2 mm (7/8 in) dia		25.00
carbon GROOVY
	CG105B	Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia		58.50
	CG105C	Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia		46.75
	CG105D	Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia		38.00
	CG105E	Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia		31.00
	CG105F	Carbon fibre groovy, 10.5 mm dia		11.75
	CG127A	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		76.50
	CG127B	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		63.25
	CG127C	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		48.00
	CG127D	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		40.00
	CG127E	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		25.00
	CG127F	Carbon fibre groovy, 12.7 mm dia		11.50
carbon round
	CR080E	Carbon fibre round, 8 mm dia		22.25
	CR080F	Carbon fibre round, 8 mm dia		11.50
	CR100E	Carbon fibre round, 10 mm dia		25.50
	CR100F	Carbon fibre round, 10 mm dia		13.25
	CR120E	Carbon fibre round, 12 mm dia		28.00
	CR120F	Carbon fibre round, 12 mm dia		14.50
	CR140E	Carbon fibre round, 14 mm dia		34.25
	CR140F	Carbon fibre round, 14 mm dia		17.50
	CR165E	Carbon fibre round, 16.5 mm dia		44.50
	CR165F	Carbon fibre round, 16.5 mm dia		22.50
	CR180E	Carbon fibre round, 18 mm dia		41.50
carbon tapered
	CR008T	Carbon fibre tapered tube, 8.5 mm to 5.7 mm diameter		17.50
	CR120T	Carbon fibre tapered tube, 12 mm to 12 x 5 mm		72.00
	CR140T	Carbon fibre tapered tube, 14 mm to 14 x 5 mm		72.00
	CR140X	Carbon fibre tapered tube, 14 mm to 14 x 5 mm - new		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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