North has no intention of changing their system. If they do, they want to maintain backwards compatibility. They just launched their FoilDrive mast, that’s a large commitment to retain customer base. I don’t have the answer, but o don’t see them changing in a next few years at least.
I would bet most issues with the F-one mast/fuse connection are user error. Wrong length bolts and/or failure to check bolt tightness. 30mm M6 will bottom out before tightening fully. Bolt shearing could happen on any similar style system, there is just less room for error.
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I’m sure lots of user error happens all the time. But when it’s -5 to +5cel and water temp is under 40cel you’re wearing 7mil gloves and can’t really be super precise with the M6 bolts. I think F-one will change to M8 so it’s not pegged to a smaller warm climate market.
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I think the other thing that hasn’t been mentioned is swapping out bolts periodically. If you switch out the M6 bolts after 6 months or so, you are less likely to get into a situation where all three bolts shear.
And steel vs titanium… Ultimate tensile strength - Wikipedia
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The ‘user error’ thing is mentioned a lot in foiling and other sports but it’s more about design. The number of F-one users who have lost foils suggests that the connection design creates a window of opportunity for user error that is wider than other brands, and that they need to make it smaller.
In my case I knew about keeping the bolts fresh but had no local F-one dealer so used stainless bolts on my Jam 1900 (span 1400cm). They bent almost every time and this was a factor in my moving to KT (and selling the Jam 1900 pronto).
There will always be user error but designers need to keep that window small.
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I get the design issue of mast thickness pointing towards m6 but why can’t they just do a 3 bolt design with 2 m6 and one m8 wherever the mast is thickest - like in the middle. Seems like a no brainer - people can even self upgrade their wings like armie with the A+ upgrade they had people drilling themselves at home.
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Multisize tool requirements are lame in my opinion. If done with uniform torx head size or something, like Flite has done, all good. But the idea of taking multiple tools to deconstruct at the end of a downwind is lame…
Even just for prone - too much to track. One size tooling is where it’s at.
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Easily resolved with a double ended m6/m8 torx driver
I’d rather have two bolt sizes to deal with than live with the risk of losing the whole foil plane, if that’s the best way to resolve it (i.e. two M6 and one M8 in the thickest section).
I think it’s a bit of a stretch to cite user error for the f-one plane losses. It’s just bad design on f-one’s part if the bolts are being loaded so that they need replaced so regularly. Does any other brand have the same issue? Maybe they could at least supply packs of 12 bolts (to cover a year’s use) at the same price to make up for their error rather than making the consumer bear the cost.
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3+ years of almost daily foiling, including spanny DW wings, never had an issue. Only replaced bolts when I’ve stripped the heads. I do think the vast majority of issues are user error, including the choice to use and over-tighten titanium bolts with massive pump wings…
I’d be super keen on someone making a simple double ended titanium Torx L-key that fits in a wetsuit pocket. Recent foilite key is actually very close to perfect.