harware

Question
Hi
i am about to begin windsurfing - i have picked up a keppler board with a mast fitting which slides along the board. I can get the mast into the fitting hole but when the mast is locked into place with the pin - the whole mast slides along the track on the board - i think there may have been some elastic cord which was once fitted to adjust this mechanism ? can you give me any advice on this mechanism ?
i also have an old school boom with no quick snap attachment to the mast - can you give me some advice on how to best lash the boom to the mast ?

Answer
Hey Dan,

It sounds like you have an adjustable mast track. There should be some type of mechanism that will lock the track into place. Sometimes it is loop of rope that goes around a pulley on each end of the track. Then there would be a pedal at the tail end of the track that when depressed, it releases the rope allowing the track to move. Another type has a pedal that when depressed, rotates a metal tube that has slots in it. When the tube rotates, it releases the mast so that it can be slid forward or back and when the pedal is released again, it allows the mast to slip into one of the slots and locks it into place.

The other possibility is that the part attached to the board just needs to be secured to the board. The majority of mast track systems are simply a theaded stud out the bottom with a slider nut. The nut goes down in a slot in the track and the threaded stud goes into the nut. Some systems area  single stud/nut type and the track just turns until the nut is tight. Others have two studs and use a screwdriver to tighten the studs onto the nuts.

Not sure what your system actually is so I've just given some generic possibilities. If it is an adjustable system, the pedal may be jammed up with salt or sand and just needs to be cleaned out good to get the locking mechanism working. Use a hose to rinse the system thoroughly. Try working the pedal while you are rinsing it. Also, pedal may be recessed and needs to be flipped up to work the lock/unlock mechanism.

As for the boom, it is probably an old tie on type. It is a fairly long description to explain how to do this so I'm going to refer you to a question about this very same subject. Go to my page of answered questions and it should be on page two. Look for 'ropes and rigging' from a gal named Kimberly. I've written a very detailed explanation on how to rig and old style sail/mast/boom.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover