Being a "born-again" sailor I'm confused with mast lengths (just one of many things) on offer nowadays.

Is there such a thing as an 'average' mast length and stiffness just like the good old days when one-piece masts and "Stiff" was common for most wave sails disregardless of make? And all you did was adjust the height of the mast extention to suit your height or style and type of sail?

I understand the 430, 460, 490 etc. are lengths, so if a 430 is extended by 30mm to become a 460 how critical is this to a sail's shape? I can imagine the beginning of the curve will be higher but does it make that much difference in say a freakin' BIG surf sail eg. 6.8? Or are boom holes in the sail a standard height from the tack which will make the bottom hole too high?

If, at just over 100kg and a bees dick short of 180cm, and I want to have one mast like the old days to fit 3 sails and sail with the boom at neck level what mast would I need? 460? What stiffness?

Now here comes the bitching. The most dissapointing part of returning to sailing is the need for so much gear! It's insane! For example more than 2 fins for one board? Sheesh, what kind of madness is that? I met someone the other day with about 6 masts in the back of their car. Fark me dead! No wonder this sport lost popularity, no-one could afford to sail!

Now that's off my chest, can anyone give me some directions please, keep in mind that I'm leaning towards longboard surfsailing (small surf) and slalom-type blasts out the back. Ta.