Perini Navi recently completed the mast stepping operation of 197-foot (60-meter) sloop Perseus^3, one of the tallest masts in the world.

Perini Navi Group, a leader in the design and construction of many of the world’s largest sailing and motor yachts, is proud to announce the successful completion of mast stepping aboard their most recent launch, Perseus^3, hull #56 of the Perini Navi sailing fleet. The sloop-rigged Perseus^3 boasts one of the world’s largest carbon fiber masts at 248.7 feet (75.8 meters) in length. It was delivered by the spar maker Future Fibres and assembled at the Perini Navi facility in La Spezia.

We think the video of the operation is pretty awesome.

The 75.8m carbon fiber mast stands among the 3 tallest rigs ever built in the world, and in the words of Future Fibres: “We have managed to produce a tube with a perfect exterior surface and a flawless Clearcote gloss carbon finish with zero filler – which can sometimes add up to 3 percent to the weight of a mast.” The mast weight is optimized at 16.4 tons.

The 76.8-foot (23.4-meter) carbon fiber furling boom has been manufactured using pre-preg carbon improving structural performance and weight, compared with standard wet-laminate construction. The boom features a new mandrel furling and locking system, as a result of extensive testing and prototyping.

Future Fibres standing rigging comprises carbon fiber for the laterals, while the fore and aft stays are made of a combination of carbon, PBO and kevlar.

Perseus^3 will feature an exclusive Rig Load Monitoring System that through a series of strain gauges constantly detects the loads acting on the rig components.

The sail wardrobe of Perseus^3, in the words of Robbie Doyle, founder of Doyle Sail Maker: “…is one of the most unique and challenging ever created.”

The dimensions of the asymmetricals and the Code 0 are such that the fabric available on the market was not capable of providing the necessary characteristics of strength and lightness, therefore special new fabrics were created after extensive R&D activities.

The complete sail set exceeds 10,000 square meters, among which the A2 with its 2,602 square meters is the largest sail ever built.

For the handling and control of the impressive sailing system, Perseus^3 features the new generation of Perini Navi captive winches and furlers. The jib winches pull a maximum load of 30 tons and have a maximum line speed of 131 feet (40 meters) per minute. Electric variable speed motors and furlers, duly synchronized and monitored by the Perini Navi Automated Sail Handling System, dramatically improve furling and deploy times while speeding the tacking and jibing time by over 75 percent compared to vessels of the previous generation.