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DB
Dinghy BaseSPARS & FOILS

MATCH FLEX TO THE SAILOR

Spars and foils by sailor weight.

Published maker guidance first; flex positioning only where kg bands are not published.

Sailor weight40 kg
2555 kg
SPAR SET WEIGHT MAPS
25354555 kg
Published suitable range
Optimax2 suitable
MK3 Flex
MK3 Medium
MK3
MK4
Optiparts Blackgold2 suitable
LITE set
MEDIUM set
POWER set
BLACKMAX set
Seldén1 suitable
Pro Flex
Pro Flex + Stiff boom
Pro Stiff
Optimast4 suitable
BLUE
RED FLEX
RED
BLACK
SPARS SUITABLE AT 40 KG
9
Optimax

MK3 Medium

Medium-flex · 30–40 kg

8% more flexible than MK3 and 8% stiffer than MK3 Flex.
Optimax

MK3

All-round · 35–45 kg

Mid-weight racing mast; can be mixed with several boom and sprit options.
Optiparts Blackgold

MEDIUM set

Medium-flex · 30–40 kg

Medium mast is about 12% more flexible than Power.
Optiparts Blackgold

POWER set

Stiffer · 35–45 kg

Power mast with 45 mm Power boom and Medium sprit.
Seldén

Pro Flex + Stiff boom

Mixed · 40–45 kg

Common high-performance combination: controlled mast bend with a more stable boom.
Optimast

BLUE

Very flexible · 25+ kg

2026 catalogue: thin-wall 1.6 mm mast. Optimast publishes 25+ kg rather than an upper limit, so this bar deliberately remains open-ended.
Optimast

RED FLEX

Flexible · 30+ kg

1.8 mm mast; positioned between BLUE and RED. The published guidance gives a minimum, not a closed weight band.
Optimast

RED

Medium-stiff · 35+ kg

1.9 mm mast; more resilient/dynamic than BLACK. Published as 35+ kg.
Optimast

BLACK

Stiffest · 40+ kg

Optimast’s stiffest mast, aimed at heavier, skilled sailors; published as 40+ kg.

Why flex follows sailor weight

Your expectation is broadly right. Lighter sailors generally benefit from a softer mast/boom/sprit package because it bends and depowers more readily under lower loads; heavier sailors can support stiffer spars and use that stiffness to retain leech tension and power. The strongest evidence is the manufacturers’ own ranges above.

FOILS

Same principle, weaker weight data.

Do not invent kg bands

Foil stiffness clearly varies and softer foils are generally marketed as easier to control while stiffer foils provide more power and response. But most foil makers do not publish precise sailor-weight bands. Dinghy Base therefore shows exact kg guidance only where we can verify it.

N1

XR-Light daggerboard

Lighter sailors
Under 45 kg

Retailer-published split: XR-Light for sailors under 45 kg.

N1

XR-Heavy daggerboard

Heavier sailors
45 kg+

Paired heavier-sailor model in the same published range.

DSK

FLEXIS

Most flexible
No verified kg band

Independent blade testing places FLEXIS at the flexible end; historic tuning guidance pairs it with lighter-sailor setups.

DSK

EXELIXIS

Medium flex
No verified kg band

Independent testing places it between FLEXIS and DYNAMIS.

DSK

DYNAMIS

Stiffer
No verified kg band

Independent testing places it near N1 and stiffer than EXELIXIS/FLEXIS.

Optiparts

One Design racing daggerboard

Very stiff
No verified kg band

Built at maximum permitted thickness to minimise flex and give stable, predictable performance.

What the research supports

Optimax, Optiparts Blackgold and Seldén currently publish very usable sailor-weight guidance. Optimast also publishes a clear flex progression, but mostly as minimum weights rather than closed bands, so its bars overlap. For foils, the most defensible current kg split we found is N1’s XR-Light under 45 kg / XR-Heavy for heavier sailors; DSK’s FLEXIS → EXELIXIS → DYNAMIS stiffness progression is credible, but precise current kg bands are not published in the sources we found.