Slightly amusing this thread

jusavina said...
Neilpryde must have a crap quality too

But we already knew this...

stehsegler said...

jusavina said...
And the same day Antoine Albeau broke his Neilpryde mast just before the race...
Neilpryde must have a crap quality too

I it was the same day that my espresso machine broke as well... maybe it's something in the water. Perhaps the world will end in 2012 after all.

I think his expresso machine is sH$T! Discuss!

Now that I've changed to RDM I no longer worry about masts, not saying they wont break, but albeit reduced risk

Anyway, I'm still going to buy a Severne Gorilla 400 RDM even after skim reading this topic.

100% carbon masts have been breaking since they first came out in the early nineties.
All the brands break and no ones come up with the technology to solve the problem.
Dont leave fully downhauled mast in the sun when its hot helps.

jsnfok said...
shouldnt this thread be removed, severne doesnt deserve this bagging out, what about NORTHSAILS some of there 100% masts were snapping, and booms, and their boards...

stuff breaks, and severne has always replaced broken stuff straight away...

so how about talk about the warranty replacement that severne has.


but we like b*tching about stuff like this

When you look overall I think the tide has turned and most of the posts are actually in defence of Severne, and the idea that masts under the highest of load, in top end competition may fail. And there will likely be footage of that failure for all the world to see.

I'm sorry but Severne are pretty ballsy when it comes to a 2 year unconditional warranty.

Googling "Cari Sveltma" seems to get zero hits... so whatever she's been doing all her life, she's kept a low profile... which is odd considering that she's just charged into this forum like a bull in a china shop....

As a former Severne employee, I am somewhat disappointed to see the brand being denigrated by a mysterious stranger. Especially after my ground breaking 2010 Campaign was started on this very forum...

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Position-Vacant-Severne-Sails-Graphic-Designer-4/

Why do masts break so much ? not just severne but in general . There are alot of other things made of carbon that dont just let go yet in windsurfing it seems to be accepted as normal . Ive broken 5 masts in 2 years and only 2 of them were from crashing .

CariS said...
I'm sorry if some people aren't happy with this video but the internet is a great tool for the modern consumer, you can search for any issue's with nearly all products, it may be a TV, phone or windsurf mast. I'm not a good swimmer so my search for new equipment brought up these problems with this product. I thank Severne Sails for replying but your reply instead of being comforting to me was more about questioning my integrity so I thank you for making it easy on my choice for new gear. I wish you luck with your product problems but I will be looking for a more reliable windsurf equipment.

Don't know what brands are more reliable, as I have never used severne sails or masts, but there are quite a few brands around to choose from.

Ben Severne (creator of Severne Sails) is a local sailor in WA, so you have probably hit a raw spot in the WA windsurfing community with your post. Although, personally, I think some of the replies have been a bit over the top for a 23 word sentence with some fantastic footage of a racing incident.

Windsurfing is a great sport, however, posting on seabreeze can be a dangerous pasttime...especially with the likes of some of the stalkers in this forum. At least you have a full name on your profile (might want to change that to something like Ginger Pom's "Stuart N" and remove your surname for privacy).

CariS said...

There seam's to be a lot of stories on here about poor quality of Severne equipment, here is video of another broken mast.

So if your buying new gear and deciding quality buy watching video's and taking note of what companies gear gets broken, you better avoid watching every wavesailing video ever made they break everthing.

And if you are looking to buy a new car best not be watching and rally driving or any form of car racing on the t.v they tend to destroy every brand..

Mark _australia said...
^^^ They break because carbon is stiff and strong, but it is brittle and not designed to bend back n forth to a great degree many times. It also does not like to be dropped in the carpark (unseen miscroscopic weakening)

100% carbon race masts are the dumbest idea ever for average sailors as they are destined to fail.
They are the greatest idea ever for pro sailors as they have awesome reflex response and are light.

Carbon bikes, tennis raquets and supercars are a different kettle of fish as they don't bend back n forth sh!tloads like our masts.

Full carbon boards for wave of B&J, no thanks. Mostly glass, and a bit of carbon/kevlar in those boards - hell yes.

Trouble is everyone thinks carbon is the duck's nuts but it is not. Usage dictates the material

id agree with you there , they should be combining different materials to get what they need not just going 100% .
But all the masts wernt even 100% carbon
1 naish 30% split vertically at the bottom , id asume that means there isnt enough fibers going around the mast to hold it togeather .
2 north silvers just above the boom clamp one from a crash one in 10 knots i recon they didnt have any strength to support the clamp in that area .
2 naish 90% one after a year just sailing along then bang and the other after a few months in a very slow catapult snapped in the middle of the boom clamp which i would asume is the boom clamp more than anything .

i just cant help but think there must be a better way

CariS said...
The reply by Severne has them admitting they have a problem with their mast so I don't think directing criticism towards myself or others for commenting on this is warranted. The main issue is that Severne stated there was a batch issue, the problem had been sorted and they had moved on but that is obviously not the case. Here is the link www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/Broken-mast-epidemic/
Even more worrying is comment 5 in this link from 2009. So the problem is a long term problem? http://forums.boards.mpora.com/showthread.php/52732-severne-masts-compatibility

This is from the Severne website "Every mast is electronically tested ensuring the bend curve and hand crafted quality meets the standard set by the Severne Hardware Division."

A warranty is great if you break 1 mast a year but it is useless if you break one every week as you may wait months for a replacement and who should pay for the sail repair? If a product has a history of breaking and the rider is injured or killed then the company should be held liable, is this not possible?

Severne is clearly hurting your market share. It is quite clear you are either an importer, distributor or retailer that's upset by Severne's success. If no one else will say it, I will. Yes I'm a Severne rider, proud of it and love the gear. Every sailor understands race masts will break, its been happening for 25 years for all brands.

CarisM said

"The reply by Severne has them admitting they have a problem with their mast so I don't think directing criticism towards myself or others for commenting on this is warranted. The main issue is that Severne stated there was a batch issue, the problem had been sorted and they had moved on but that is obviously not the case"

Perhaps some education is in order for a newbie trying to learn about the sport.
A very cool sport which i strongly encourage you to do more of - cos wind surfing is one of the coolest things you can do - its like flying - but only cms off the water!

The mast situation is a little more involved than you make out - i hope this helps you make some sense of how the real world works

You should understand that most brands dont just have a "mast"

They actually have a full range of masts - from price point low carbon - right through to high spec / hi performance (and usually a higher price tag)

You have been consistently referring to a batch problem on the Hi Spec race mast- which is Known as the Enigma (a batch problem that has now been worked through in Australia with new layup replacement masts provided )

and using that to indicate the whole range of masts has a problem - this is not the case


The Wave masts are rock solid (These are Gorilla and Red line models - they tend to be RDM or reduced diameter masts)

In Australia Severne tend to have a batch of key sailors at all the marquee locations - often places with big powerful waves like Margaret River or the NW desert (google "Eneabba") - In fact there are a lot of Severne sailors at these locations- and these sorts of conditions will occasionally break any mast - no matter what brand or model

- but mast breakage these days in waves of consequence is a relatively rare event - even in these heavy wave conditions. Compare that to 12 years ago with heavy SDM (standard diameter) masts - virtually every mast high wipeout would result in a snapped mast.

The Mid/ high Spec SDM Blueline masts (75%Carbon ) have also been good performers and breakage has been less than you would expect compared to background breakage rate (this is the rate of masts breakage that all masts / brands / models are subject to due to wear and tear / damage in transit / heavy catapults / getting avalanched in huge waves / UV degradation etc etc)