Spars For Sailboats

GMT began as Goetz Marine Technology, formed by the principals of Eric Goetz Custom Sailboats, so we have been engaged in sailing longer than any other maker of carbon composite sailboat spars. In 1990, when David Schwartz became managing partner, GMT secured the first contract ever awarded to supply carbon furling masts for performance cruising boats. With racing rules prohibiting the use of carbon until 1994, cruising was the first beneficiary of this highly effective construction. Since then, we have built more than 1,000 spars for racing and cruising boats from 30 to 120 feet in length.

Better Engineering
The basic mast design is detailed right in the proposal. GMT tells you what the carbon mast tube will weigh. How else can you know how much weight you will be saving?

Mast engineering is based on how you will sail the boat. Masts for family cruisers will be built stronger. Masts for racers will be designed to be as light as possible.

Details of the spar are all analyzed with proprietary software and FEA software. Additional laminate is added in high stress areas and around holes. Metal parts are designed specifically to be compatible with the composite tube.

Better Construction
Only pre-impregnated carbon/epoxy is used. With this material we can precisely control the amount of resin throughout the spar. Hand wet out or wet-preg processes can have too much resin which adds weight or too little which makes for a weak part.

We have been using pre-preg material from the same supplier for over 15 years. Yes it is more expensive, but their product is the best. GMT chose this material for its superior resistance to damage from impact.

A pre-preg resin system does not lose strength in hot, sunny climates. Masts can be painted dark colors without overheating.

Our masts are built from layers of uni-directional material. These layers are oriented in different directions to resist the compressive, bending and twisting loads in a mast. Filament winding or braiding can't give the ideal fiber orientation at all locations along the mast.

Better Finish
Masts are fully faired. Reinforced areas are allowed to stand out to subtly show that the spar is made from advanced composites.

Finish paint is a two part linear polyurethane. It will retain its high gloss for years. It can be buffed and waxed after years of use to enhance gloss. Metal parts are isolated when necessary to eliminate bubbling of paint due to corrosion.

More Experience
GMT has more experience with composites than any other mast builder in the world. The company and its founders have been building composite parts for over 20 years.

GMT has been a supplier of parts to America's Cup syndicates for the last 4 campaigns.

GMT has built thousands of carbon/epoxy parts. Only 5 have failed. Only one of our masts has failed due to a design or construction flaw. None of our competitors come close to our outstanding record of safety and reliability.

More Choices
GMT is responsive to your wishes. For instance, we build park avenue booms, furling booms, booms with racks, round booms and standard, D shaped booms. GMT offers all these options because we know that there is no one system that is best for every sailor. We enjoy talking with you about your preferences and about how you will use your boat. Only then can we recommend what might be best for you.

Composite Spars Are More Important To Us: Composites are our only business, not just a sideline to an aluminum mast production facility.

GMT is responsive to your wishes. You can see it in the speed of our response and in the detail contained in our proposal.

Complete customer satisfaction is critical. Ask us for customers who want to talk with you about their happy experiences in buying a GMT mast.