Inside the Pauger workshop with the Ghostship Team
The Ghostship visit to Pauger Carbon started with a simple question: can you make your own carbon yacht mast?
It is the kind of question many hands-on sailors have probably asked themselves. Carbon is light, strong, and exciting to work with. But after walking through Pauger’s workshop in Hungary, the answer becomes much more interesting.
The Ghostship Project
The Ghostship is an experimental adventure project built around the idea that exploration should not destroy the wild places it celebrates. The project began with a plan to sail back to Patagonia, then grew into a broader mission around minimal-impact adventure, real-world testing, and storytelling.
A boat designed for serious adventure needs equipment that is light, strong, reliable, and efficient. A carbon rig can help with all of those goals.
Inside the factory
A mast may look like just a tube from the outside, but inside it is a carefully engineered structure.
The visit begins with lamination, where the fibres are already impregnated with resin for accurate material control. A 21-metre mast for a 40-foot racer-cruiser is shown in production, with longitudinal fibres for core strength and stiffness, plus reinforcement around key load areas.
Pauger uses laser guidance to position reinforcement patches, then closes the moulds and uses an internal pressure bag before curing the mast in a large oven. The result is a smooth, strong structure with reinforcement hidden inside.
There is also a strong emphasis on hand finishing. After moulding and machining, careful handwork still makes a major difference. The mast is assembled before paint to make sure everything works.
The Carbon Rigging
A complete lateral rigging set for a Neo 520 racer-cruiser is less than 14 kilos. a conventional rig of that size is described as likely weighing over 80 kg.
The practical benefit is clear. Less weight aloft can mean less pitching, less rolling, better light-wind sailing, and improved overall responsiveness.
So, can you build your own carbon yacht mast?
The Ghostship video gives a realistic answer: carbon is fascinating, but professional mast building is much more complex than it looks. You need laminate design, accurate tooling, pressure, curing, CNC machining, correct fittings, spreader geometry, finishing, and quality control.