BIC Rock & Roll mast and boom attachment

Question
Hello,
 I have searched through previous answers and not quite come across the information I was after. I have just bought a BIC Rock & Roll (3.05m) board. The seller hadn't sailed it for a while and was unable to let me know exactly how the boom attached to the mast. I have used a number of older style rope attachments, but not this one. There is a rope fitting that has a red "ball" attached to the end. The rope is a doubled length of rope - probably about 15 cm long that attaches to the "ball".   It looks like it is meant to wrap around the mast and boom then loop back over the "ball" to hold it tightly. However, we can't work it out. Any suggestions or pointers to links on how to rig this?

thanks,
Craig

Answer
Hey Craig,

You have an older 'tie' on type of boom to mast attachment. It can be a bit confusing if you are not familiar with how it works. The key is the initial set up. Slide the sail onto the mast. Place the mast foot into the mast and apply some downhaul to the sail. At about the middle of the opening for the boom, take the rope with the ball and loop the rope around the mast. If memory serves me, there should be enough rope to loop around twice. You will feed the ball through the loop both times and then pull it snug. There should be about two to three inches of rope between the ball and the loop. Be sure the ropes are laying flat and not crossing. Now lay the boom parallel to the mast with the clew end of the boom under the top of the mast and the mast end of the boom laying on top of the mast. There should be a hole large enough in the boom for the ball to slide up through from underneath and then a slot for the rope. Now, facing the boom/mast connection, grasp the mast about two feet above the boom/mast connection with your right hand and grasp the boom about two feet away from the mast with your left hand. LIft both the mast and the boom and swing the boom down. The rope/ball should tighten up to hold the boom snug against the mast. Now attach the outhaul rope to the sail and pull it snug. Now tighten downhaul rope to remove any wrinkles in the mast sleeve area and adjust the outhaul to help shape the sail. Stand the sail up and check the height of the boom. It should be around upper chest to shoulder height when attached to the board. To adjust the boom height, reverse the set up process to the point of the boom lying parallel to the mast. Release the ball and move the rope up or down accordingly.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover