Disconnect mast from board...

Question
I just bought two older long boards at a yard sale they're both Mistral. One has a peddle release mechanism, the other doesn't. The one that doesn't just has a rope on a pulley inside and a thinner rope as well. The problem is...I cannot get the mast base (foot?) out of the slot in the board! I had to remove all the screws and the aluminum slot just to store the thing foe now. Any pointers?

Answer
Hey Charles,

There should be some type of paddle on the board that will release the track so that the base can move forward or back on the board. It may be laying flat in the recess of the board at the aft end of the mast track. It should flip up and be leaning forward at about a 45 degree angle. Then you press on it with your foot to release the track and move it. If you don't want to accidentally move the track, just flip it back down into the recess.

Now, as for not being able to remove the base. It should be connected one of two ways. Mistral built two connection points into their moveable mast tracks. The Mistral type should be a small black lever right near the base on the track that will lift up. When it is lifted, it spreads apart two metal pins to release the base pin. The base will have a pin coming out the bottom that has a slot machined near the bottom of the pin. When you insert the base and lock down the black lever, it secures the base to the mast track.

The other connection point should be just forward of the pin system and is a threaded connection. It is a female threaded insert that a metric threaded stud will screw into. This is a standard connection on all modern mast bases.

So, look for that black tab system or just unscrew the base from the mast track. This should resolve your problem. If it looks to be a threaded system, it may be rusted in place if someone has left it connected and out in the weather for a long time. You may need to spray some liquid wrench in there as best you can. You may need to spray it, let it set for a while, and spray it again to get the threads to break loose.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover