Seatrend

Question
QUESTION: I am thinking about breaking into this sport, and have a lot of experience sailing and surfing. I found a Seatrend board that looks like fun but it doesn't have the mast step or the U joint to connect the mast. I have searched online but can't seem to find this part, is this a bust? Are they no longer made, Thank you

ANSWER: Hey Templeton,

Surfing helps with your balance on a board and sailing gives you a lot of knowledge about wind, wind direction, and various terminology related to sailing. Both of these will help you learn and advance fairly quickly with windsurfing. Be careful though as it is very addictive. Where with surfing you spend 95% of your time waiting for a wave (and your turn) and 5% of your time surfing, windsurfing is pretty much the opposite. 95% of your time is spent sailing.

What you are looking for is a 'mast base & extension'.

I don't know of any Seatrend boards that use something other than a standard mast base which are readily available.
Does your mast track look like these boards?;
http://www.the-house.com/brd-by-size.html

If so, at the above website click on 'wind shop' and then windsurfing bases & extensions. You can also put 'Chinook windsurfing' into a search engine and find various other places to buy bases and extensions. Ebay and craigslist are good resources for used gear. Here is a great resource for information and links for gear - windsurfingmag.com. Check out equipment and also links.

Here's the kicker, if you have never tried windsurfing, the Seatrend you are looking at may not be quite right for a beginner. If the board is less than 11' long, then it is probably too short. If you really feel that you will get into windsurfing, and it is a great deal, it is probably something that you will grow into as your abilities advance. If it has sail/mast/boom, you can probably use that rig on a beginner board to learn on and then advance to the Seatrend.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the info. The Seatrend comes with a 11 (I think) Mistral board which is also missing the mast base and extension but overall it looks like a good deal. I was also curious if you might have a notion on how much i should offer for them because the people who are selling them are my local sea scout group who know nothing about them and the boards were donated some years ago. The Seatrend comes with about 5 different sails and three booms and is a hybrid 9.5, the mistral one sail and one boom and a center board any idea on a fair price for the 2? they are older but not beat up looks like someone kept them in good condition the windows on all sails are not fogged and they are fully batoned. Again thank you for your help and quick reply.
Templeton

Answer
Hey Templeton,

Sounds like you hit a little gold mine for decent older gear. The Mistral will definitely work for getting you started and into an intermediate level. Then you can start working on learning shortboard sailing with the Seatrend. The Seatrend hybrids were made around the late '80's to early '90's. Not sure of the Mistral as they made a variety of longboards from the late '70's through the mid '90's. The good part is that the Mistral has the centerboard. They made a variety of centerboards to match particular boards and can be difficult to replace.

The thing to look for on the Mistral is the type of mast base it will require. If there are just two holes, then you may have trouble finding a base as they are a very specific part and hard to find. If a standard mast base will work on it (like the ones I've already shown you) then you will be in good shape. Look for a standard mast track or a moveable mast track. A moveable mast track will have a white rectangular piece that will move forward and back when a small black pedal is depressed on the back end of the track. This rectangular piece will have two holes. One hole is for a Mistral specific base and the other hole will be a threaded insert that will accept a standard mast base.

If that is the type on the Mistral, then a mast base like I've shown will work for both boards. Also, you seem specific about certain sails going with certain boards. You should be able to use any of the sails on either board. The only exception would be that any sail over about 6.5m2 would be too big for the Seatrend.

As for pricing, as in any used gear transaction, price is relevant to the buyer and seller. A person could maybe get a lot for all that gear on ebay or selling individual pieces or sell the whole lot for a discount just to be rid of it. Fair market value in my estimation would probably be around $200 or less. Remember that you will need to get a mast base and extension ($50-$100) and maybe some fins (You didn't mention if the boards have fins). You can always start offering a lower price than I suggested. Without knowing exactly what brands/sizes/condition/etc, it's hard for me to judge the value of the gear. Your description indicates fairly decent condition so do what you can to get your best deal. If you are truly planing to get into windsurfing, this set up will have you on your way in one swoop. Best of luck on your deal.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover