Abstract
The paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the stiffness of an A-class catamaran (A-Cat) mast. The structure has a constant, prismatic cross-section and is made from fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) multilayered laminate. The material parameters of the structure were identified. Then, static tests were conducted using a simply supported beam configuration, where supports were established at the beginning of the mast length and at the rigging attachment point. A computational model of the mast was created and analysed using the finite element method (FEM). A sensitivity analysis was performed on a validated model, from which sensitivity coefficients were obtained. On this basis, it was possible to determine how the structure could be modified to obtain the expected deformation, i.e. the maximum displacement of a selected point on the mast or the shape of the mast bending under a given load.