Kraken staff have been working with structural engineers in Turkey on an amazing new concept for the masts and rigging of its cruising yachts.
The prototype of this new rig was undergoing tests as Kraken News went to press, but early reports suggest it will take the marine industry by complete surprise.
The idea was to develop a mast and rigging that would bend rather than break when under stress and first results appear to show this has been achieved with a specially bonded rubber mast section.
The mast flexes by as much as 4m over its length!
KY chairman, Dick Beaumont said: ‘It’s amazing, when the wind suddenly gusts above 35 knots the mast flexes by as much as 4m over its length, taking on the wind profile, then, when the gust has passed, it will simply snap-back into upright mode.’
More problematic has been the physical requirements of flexible rigging to work with the rubber mast but this appears to have been overcome using a composite of rubber, similar to latex. If the full tests prove successful, the Flexo-Mast (Pat. Pending) will revolutionise the future of sailing.
