Are proctor carbon rigs ok or do people feel that the mast section doesn't work as well as Superspars or Chipstow. Any advice please

I had the National championship winning Proctor.
It broke.
but so did my Chipstow.

The Proctor Mk1s (Integrated luff track) were popular, possibly for the want of anything better but they performed well in their day. Production was not especially consistant, and they went out of fashion. Now superceeded by Superspars and Chipstows and disconinued by Selden.

The proctor Mk IIs have a plastic glued on luff track and are *very* stiff compared with superspars and chipstows. The only one I know of on a merlin waved a white flag at the aberoch champs as it just refused to bend enough and something had to give. The mast it was in two places.

Is there a beginners guide to reapiring carbon masts? From where do you get the materials from, through to how do you make it look good. I had some good advice from someone when I broke my proctor Mk1 at Hayling, but I have probably forgotten it by now.

Have a three part Proctor Mk1 in my garage, I'm tempted to try a DIY repair, as a professional repair is not economic and selling the bits would be the only alternative.

I rather liked the Mk1 the couple of times I used it, its lighter than a super spars, and seemed to have good bend characteristics.

Alan,

Give Laurie Smart a call. He broke the Proctor on his old boat 3556 a while back and made a brilliant repair, infact you would not know where it broke! To cure the resins he made a kiln from a card board box with a high wattage lamp. Ingenious and worked a treat.

The Mk1 Proctor was a good section. Very light,due to the recessed carbon luff track, compared to the Super Spar alloy jobby , good bend charateristics, shame they stopped making that particular spec.

If you can it is worth getting it repaired.

I am sure Laurie will be more that happy to give you advice.

Have a good Christmas

Cheers

Richard

My understanding of the principal problem repairing the Proctor Mk 1 is that the hoop strength of the section is wholely dependant upon the integrity of the bond between the luff groove and the outer wall.  When the mast breaks, there is often a crack between the two components that extends well beyond the actual break area.  This crack is very difficult to spot, but if not addressed, leads to the repaired mast breaking very quickly just above or just below the repair.

Tony Johnson had this happen a couple of times, leading to him becoming Jacko's best customer for a while!

It is a much more straightforward process to repair a Chipstow or a Superspar because the integrity of the mast is within the tube, and the sail track is less of an issue.

GGGGGG

Proctor Mk 2?  Great as a replacement for a wooden mast.

GGGGGGGG

3546 had Proctor Mk1 carbon when I bought her, which has now been replaced by a top of the line Chipstow.  I'd guess that the Proctor was a little lighter than the Superspar I had on the previous boat.  Probably a somewhat stiffer section high up than the SS, hence gust response not as good, but still nicer to use than an M1 metal rig.  If you can't stretch to a Chipstow, the Superspar carbon is the better mast IMO.  Then again, secondhand prices of the Proctor carbon seem to reflect that, so could be good value if cheap enough.