The Yacht Insider: World's Tallest Aluminum Mast Unveiled
New 184-footer boasts equipped with record-setting aluminum mast.
by Kim Kavin, July 16, 2008
Boats.com
Seventy-five meters is tall. It's just shy of 250 feet. It's a 25-story building, or a "small" redwood tree in California's Sierra Nevada, or what a tape measure would read if you held it on the George Washington Bridge and dropped it to the surface of New York's Hudson River.
It's also now the height of the tallest aluminum mast in the world. The distinction belongs to the Perini Navi cutter Salute, a newly launched 184-foot sistership to recent stunners Selene and Rosehearty. The Italian builder designed Salute's mast in collaboration with the department of naval architecture and marine engineering at the University of Genoa, including sensors that track the loads on Salute's stays and shrouds. Such sensors have been used on America's Cup racing yachts, but Salute represents their first use on a large cruising yacht, according to the builder.
Raising a mainsail along such a massive mast would have weakened a lot of mates' biceps in days gone by, but with Salute, Perini Navi also created what it is calling the "giga-winch." The contraption has two power drums and one rope stowage drum to handle the mainsail halyard, so deckhands can applaud with relief (as their arms won't be limp from pulling up the sail manually).
Salute's top speed is expected to exceed 15 knots, which is not quite as fast as the tallest single-masted yacht in the world, Mirabella V, with a 292-foot mast and a top speed that exceeds 20 knots. She, like Salute, is based in the Mediterranean this summer. In fact, when I took a death-defying ride in the crow's nest halfway up Mirabella V's mast a couple of months ago, she wasn't too far from the Perini Navi facility in Italy where Salute was launched.
Maybe the two single-masted beauties will race this summer. It sure would be fun to see, assuming they don't block out the sun.
Editor's Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of five books including Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com. Kim also edits www.BoatNameGame.com, which invites readers to submit and comment on funny, interesting, and bizarre boat names.
At approximately 250 feet tall, the mast for the Perini Navi cutter Salute sets a new mast-height record.
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