Did you see any gains in agility/control with shorter masts? Is the difference insignificant as you get more skilled?
Hi.
Short mast is easier. More stable. Less maneuverable. It takes more force to turn on a short mast, so the board feels stiffer.
Long mast has much more agility. Much more unstable. Which is a good thing, means it’s more maneuverable.
You can’t carve as much on a short mast because the wingtips come out of the water, or the rail of the board hits the water.
You can’t ride in rough seas with the short mast because you’re not able to clear the waves and keep the prop in the water at the same time.
Short mast only for learning and shallow water. Otherwise 90cm mast. If the slingshot aluminum mast was available in 95cm I’d be riding an even longer mast.
That makes a lot of sense! For some reason, I thought a shorter mast would make a set up more agile/maneuverable but it is the opposite. Thanks for your input! I’ll keep my 90cm+masts!
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In flat water I use a 65cm mast. It’s stable, doesn’t hit the bottom and I have never had any issues carving tight turns on it. It’s also super easy to travel with.
In open ocean a longer mast is definitely necessary because of the swell and chop. An 80-90cm mast enables you to keep the motor in the water where a shorter mast like 65cm would create a breach.
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You have a good point! Shorter masts are more convenient to travel with but it seems like we can all agree that 90cm masts are more versatile. They allow for different riding conditions and more range of motions. However, they are less stable and might be more prone to bend or flex.
Heavy boy with « heavy board » , doing 360 has short as possible with a large wing : short gong mast bended
I guess there is a reason why they put this in a middle of your mast
With a good grip you can actually bend a gong mast easily by hand , since we bend it back « straight » , pretty scary
Time to switch to a Slingshot mast! These are super strong. I’m sure you could bend it if you fell on it, or put it on blocks and jumped in the middle, but I don’t see this bending under normal use.
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That’s why I want to put it back in as much as possible! I’ve done tight 360 with my other LF mast which has the same profile as the old one and no alu block and it hasn’t bent! I haven’t heard of any LF mast bending on this forum even though LF told me they had warranty issue about that. Regardless, better be safe than sorry. I’ll put half the block back in and call it a day.
I’ve bent a slingshot. It just depends how you fall. I think a lot is luck of the draw as well. Some masts might just have slight defects in the extrusion.
My gong has been sturdy and faithful this far and I’m hoping it holds out a while longer.
Revisiting this post. I have a 5’4" Lift E3 coming and wondered if the new 81cm (32") mast would be too big for this board’s size. It comes defaulted to the 28" (72cm) mast.
I’m an experienced wake foiler (28"), kite foil (32") and new to Efoiling. I’m 5’8" 165 lbs. My goal is primarily fun for me but also the ability to teach a few lessons and get friends and family riding which is why I got the 5’4" Cruiser. When I asked Lift about mast size they felt the 32" is too big for teaching and therefore not offered on the 5’4" and 5’9" foils. However it could be ordered as a custom choice. On the 4’2" and 4’9" boards the bigger mast is offered.
My thoughts are that with the motor down by the foil essentially about 5" is used up and cannot be breached. That leaves about 23" of useable mast on the 28" mast and 27" on the 32" mast. Seems to me having more mast to play with would add to the fun factor. Deeper carves, ability to foil in chop.
I guess my main concern is that with the board being so big and wide (165cm by 71cm and 88l volume which is 5’4" by 28" wide) that I might have issues with a higher weight (me and board and battery) sitting on top of a taller mast creating more instability. I did see that companies such as Slingshot and Armstrong offer large similar size Wing SUP, Wing Surf boards paired with longer (32"+) masts. But these would not be near the weight though with the Efoil battery.
Does board width and weight play a role in mast size efficiency? In the end its a balance game and with larger wings I suppose stability on a longer mast could be reached…
I’ve so far only ridden two foils, gong xxl and gong curve LT but speaking from that i’d say this:
To me the smaller foil is easier to foil with since the xxl is so slow to steer. Like a truck with a trailer. I don’t think the board weight or size matters a lot, compared to body weight it’s minimal if you’re not one of those french skeleton body types.
The thing that has affected my efoiling the most is a sloppy mast to mast plate connection and flexible mast with the gong V1 mast. I’ve bought a gong V2 mast to try out after summer. Let’s hope it’s better😀
I’d go with the longer mast. If it turns out to be too long? Cut it on a mitre saw.
Thx Larsb. I do appreciate your response but I’m still a bit confused. I think you might be thinking I built this Efoil but it’s a pre-made Lift product so the mast can’t be cut. Mast plate connections and mast flexibility is not an issue here since Lift carbon fiber masts are made super rigid nor are than any known mast flex issues with their masts.
I’m not as concerned with foil size since Lift has so many to pick from and surely one will match my ability as it relates to all the weight (me, battery, board) that sits on top of it. My gut is that since I will teach some lessons on it that a larger “surf” foil (not high aspect) will aid everyone’s chance at getting a ride. Maybe the 250 Surf with the 48 tail. And like you said it will turn slower but that is good for beginners.
Why would you go with the longer mast?
I’ve used 65 vs 75cm masts and i don’t find a great difference. In waves i find the 65 to be marginal, easy to either touch the next wave with the board or to get the foil into the air. If you’re already used to foils i don’t think you’ll have any issues with a longer mast and for those still learning it’s possible to ride with the foil lower. The thing i can see being better for learning with a shorter mast is that it doesn’t allow as wide angles when falling and hence less chances of falls on the foil or board.