Why spars matters in Optimist sailing performance?

How to choose an optimist spar set?

Hello Everyone!

It seems I underestimated the number of participants in the Pula race in the previous post... Instead of three groups, there were actually four. I hope everyone fought to the very end in every race!
(By the way, the Pula race itself deserves a bit of statistical analysis. I’ll conduct some research…)

However, in this post, I’d like to provide some technical background information about Optimist spars. The autumn - spring period is always a good time for technical fine-tuning, moving to the next level, or even learning new maneuvers. While it's harder these days to  clearly separate preparation, qualification events, and major competitions - since one closely follows another - it’s still possible to find a few weekends for testing.

I assume there's no question that sailing is a technical sport. Everyone immediately knows that you need:

• A boat (including foils)
  
• A sail
• Spars - and you’re ready to hit the water.
  Ten – twenty years ago (and maybe even today), this is how most people thought about sailing. Thanks to the wealth of domestic and international experience gathered over the years, we now know that achieving even minor success requires:
• Proper training volume
• It’s also crucial who is in control of the whole setup - the skipper.
• (And of course, a few words could also be said about clothing.)

It’s interesting to note that beginners and even active sailors often:

• Overestimate the importance of the hull in achieving results,
• Underestimate the potential of the spars,
• Have a fairly accurate understanding of the sail, although there’s a bit of mystique surrounding its operation.

The right spar-sail combination offers tremendous potential in terms of speed and precision. Currently there are 9+1 different spar options available. Moreover, this doesn’t include all the spars from various brands. If I look through the catalogs, three different manufacturers (Optiparts, Optimax, Optimast) offer a total of 15 types of spars. Additionally, a few smaller manufacturers provide about 4–6 more types. So, we’re talking about 15–20 types of spars… without combining different brands!

Of course, it wasn’t always like this. In the 1980s (e.g., when the Eszes brothers were sailing Optimists), thanks to Köfém employees, Hungarian-made spars were commonly used by Optimist sailors.

Köfém: a factory in Székesfehérvár specializing in lightweight metals (e.g., aluminum). Many of their employees were sailors (e.g., Gusztáv Tóth, Zoltán Németh), and by combining work and hobby, they created various spars, trolleys, spibooms, etc. Of course, there were also a few foreign spars, like Optimax. Presumably, the top competitors at the time used the MKII, which was taken off the market a few years ago.

In the 1990s, even my father, Lajos Hodács, made spars (also with Köfém's help), and Slovak spars were also available by then.
Just to clarify, we’re talking about a maximum of 2–3 spar variations! No need to worry, these were high-quality aluminum spars.

Around the early 1990s, competitors started using Optiparts spars, first the Silver set and then Goldspars. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, sailing with the stronger Blackgold sets became more common. (Today, these have been further developed, and there are three variations.)
Over time, competitors also selected from the Optimax spar family. Initially, only the MKII and MKIII types were in use. The strongest spar, the Optimax MKIV, was introduced in 2007. If I remember correctly, the first Hungarian users were Fanni Péch, Benji Vadnai, and Balázs Gyapjas.

As time went on, the product range offered by manufacturers expanded. Generally, there are more spars available for sailors weighing 30–45 kg, while fewer options are available for those under 30 kg or over 45 kg.
Honestly, the number of spars available today is becoming hard even for me to keep track of. So I created a summary table, which I’m sharing with you now.

The main differences between spars lie in the materials used, wall thickness, and anodization. These factors are combined to create each product line; for example, with stronger materials, slightly thinner walls are used. Naturally, manufacturers don’t produce spars randomly; strict class rules (CR 3.5) apply to them as well (length, diameter, etc.).

From the table, you can see that masts all have a diameter of 45 mm, while booms come in 40, 45, and 55 mm - although 32 mm booms were used in the past.
Interestingly, many sailors don’t specifically focus on the sprit pole, even though there are significant differences in terms of diameter and wall thickness. Fortunately, the approach to selecting equipment is slowly but surely changing in a positive direction.

There are trends and theories in spar usage that change over time. Basically, there are two main theories:

• As a sailor's weight and physical strength increase, they are typically given stiffer spars.
• Choosing a slightly more flexible spar relative to the sailor’s weight allows the sail's leech to "work" more effectively.

Which is better? I won’t take a stand. Everyone believes what they want, and it’s not necessarily possible to calculate the best choice mathematically.
This is because spar selection is influenced by multiple factors:

• Body weight
• Physical endurance
• Sailing skill and technicl ability
• Sailing waters (wave conditions)
• Sail design (shape, entry point, radial vs. cross-cut, etc.)

Experience with different spars also plays a significant role in the decision-making process!

Personally, my experience aligns more with the first theory. Take a look at the attached picture. Roman, a roughly 45 kg sailor, used a medium-stiff spar. During a strong wind training session, the excessive bending of the spar was noticeable, and I thought Roman was losing too much energy—i.e., speed and precision. In my opinion, he couldn’t fully leverage his physical strength advantage in strong winds.

It took nearly two months to convince his parents to change the spar. Naturally, they received more information supporting the second theory, which further complicated the decision. Finally, we fitted Roman with a stiffer spar (Optimast Black)... and lo and behold! He still handles strong winds well, although he has to work harder, but his speed has increased. (The change was challenging because it happened mid-season and not during the autumn-spring period.)
The new boom and spritpole are visibly stronger (they bend less) compared to the previous ones, while the mast is slightly stiffer yet retains its dynamism.
The picture shows his old spar.

Of course, this is just one example and hte opposite scenarios can also occur. Even within my team, I’ve had younger sailors who switched from inherited stiff spars to softer ones, or we replaced just a boom or gaff.

As I mentioned earlier, multiple factors should be considered when choosing a spar. For example, we wouldn’t have changed Roman’s spar if his physical fitness and boat-handling skills weren’t up to par.

Summary: Today, many spars are available to competitors, so it’s worth selecting carefully, considering multiple factors, especially if the goal is higher-level international participation. A developing sailor can achieve their goals more effectively with the right spar setup, or even just a single element replacement, because spars have more potential than you might think! 😉