A generous contribution and big thanks

After load testing our carbon tubes, and settling on a larger propeller than originally intended, we concluded that the carbon tubes we got from Joby were plenty strong, but slightly more flexible than we’d ideally like. Consequently, we put the word out to the local windsurfing community to see if anyone had any carbon windsurfing masts they were looking to sell cheap.

Most carbon windsurfing masts come in two pieces, and typically the bottom piece is the portion that fails. Fortunately, we’re looking to build our prop blades around the upper portion. We were lucky enough to get a call from local windsurfer and friend Jerry Bertrand. Jerry actually donated 4 complete carbon masts for the project.

We did a bit of matching and load testing on these, and determined that two will be ideal for our prop blades, and the other two will certainly come in handy for honing our skills in working with composites as we practice making prop blades. I suspect they’ll also make their way into the project or test fixtures before it’s all over.

Thanks very much Jerry.