Foilstate

Mast stiffness vs drag, comparing the takuma alu (75cm long, 15.5mm thick) and cedrus (77cm long, 19mm thick) mast.

This is my honest, unbiased, thorough feedback on gear through A/B testing. Straight truth, outside the realm of emotions and hype.

Second session proning the cedrus, using my 4’6 appletree board, kujira 1210, 178 tail no shim, stock fuse, knee to waist high clean waves, clean water. Going back and forth with the 2 masts, everything else being equal.

Stiffness : The takuma alu feels okay but could be better, a bit wobbly on the pump if not pumped straigth down, and some delay in the turns (spring effect). The cedrus is as stiff as it gets, no wobble, direct feedback, less delay in turns, absolute control.

Drag : The cedrus feels somewhere between 10 to 30% more draggy than the takuma. This drag feel translates directly to the same change on energy per pump and glide. Theorically it should be ~5% and maybe it is, but this is what it actually “feels” like in the water.
On high pumps with the wing close to the water surface, the drag feels about 10% more on the cedrus, on bottom turns full speed on the wave with the mast almost fully immersed, the drag feels about 30% more on the cedrus.
The drag kills the speed generated by the wave/pump, and the energy difference required is instantly noticeable, like seaweed stuck in the fuse. On the cedrus I could do a run of a few minutes with a major effort, while on the takuma I can do 10-20 minutes runs with relative ease.

The difference of drag might be on the extreme end with the takuma foils, as everything is built around drag reduction. My try of the art999 on the 19mm thick axis alu mast did not shock me at all. Rider preference and weight, brand, wing size and discipline all play a huge role, and I am sure the cedrus fits some cases perfectly. The cedrus mast does not fit what I am searching for unfortunately, despite an amazingly built mast, ultra rigid and bullet proof for weight loads.

This drag difference is a major eye opener for me. Curious to try thinner rigid masts. If you know a solution shoot me a DM! To be continued..