Mast Dinging Board

[jonf]

I've got a wide carbon board that's relatively short (250 cm or so) and am having a problem with the mast dinging the nose of the board (especially on catapults). I haven't found any pads that cushion the mast at the proper spot. Anybody have any solutions?

[Remi]

Hi Jonf,

You can order a nose protector, this is possible for all our boards.

All the best

[Windman]

Good morning, Jon,

I think that you are not alone in your problem. Personally, I use the NeilPryde combined boom and mast protector, which uses a thick, moulded core on the mast section.

The standard model does not come down far enough on the mast, so I bought another one, cut off the mast protector section, then sewed it to the bottom of the first one, so that the nose of the board was as protected as it could be.

Have been using it for about 18 months now, without a nose fracture. Offered the suggestion to NP but have not seen that they used the idea.

Will try and post 3 pictures of the idea below. If I am unsuccessful, you can PM me and I'll send them to you.

In passing, the tape over the nose of the board is there to protect the sail from the deck grip, as the sail passes over the board during a water start.

Hope this helps (everyone).

[jonf]

Windman,

Thanks. I've tried the NP protector. As you mentioned it is too short. I cut off the boom attachment and placed the mast protector lower. However, I found that the protector seemed to rotate with the sail away from the impact zone and that it came off entirely in about 15 minutes. Does your solution solve these problems?

Jon

[nonopr]

There is a product call The Deviator. Although I think mast hitting the nose is a proble that means that you are going downwind to low and the draft of the sail is unstable and does making you catapult in the gusts.

[nakaniko]

Used Deviator some times years ago, seems to work but reduce usable mast track lenght, have some risk for feet fingers, can eventually break the side of mast track; I don't remember if I broke the same the nose.
Used also Jet'z knob, If I well remember didn't save my nose one time, then I lost it in the sea (unscrewed)
Best was a not nice homemade protector of the nose made from foam or symilar. Now I don't care so much as my Scores are already repaired many times. With a new board I'd surely buy the original protector or make my ugly one.
The thing I don't understand is why brands doesn't use only on the nose a piece of dynema, as made for the whole board by Witchcraft, seems the most light and resistant material and for the not so large area of nose impacts woldn't be a big cost or problem imho...

[Windman]

Jon,

I use the protector on X3 and X6 SDM masts and have not experienced the problems you have described. The 2 x clamps inside each protector really grip onto the mast and I cannot see how normal slalom sailing would dislodge the protector.

Very occasionally, one protector might half dislodge if I get caught in waves that are crashing over the sail, but I've always put it down to the wave working on the whole side of the protector. I have never had bot protectors come off at the same time.

In the setup I use, if the protector starts to rotate on the mast, the upper boom protector webbing (connected to the top mast protector), will only allow the mast protector limited movement, so it cannot rotate off the mast to cause a ding the nose of the board during a catapult.

In passing, the NP notice on the protector says something like "cannot be guaranteed to prevent nose damage in all conditions", which I think is a fair statement.

Hope this helps.

[BelSkorpio]

I've recently also bought Jez's knob for my son's board after a nose repair.
Don't know if it's going to help. It's for sure no 100% guarantee, but that's valid fo all nose protection systems I guess.

The only thing that bothers me a lot is the potential risk of breaking toes.

Has anyone heard of a real toe breaking accident because of Jez's knob ?
Please tell me.

Always seems sacrilige (Sp?) to buy a well designed light board and sticking an ugly nose protector on it; which still doesnt guarantee not damaging board.

The deflectors do damage mast track; seen two pulled out by them.

Only sure way to not damage a board is dont sail it !!! You can cut down risks by buying an appropriate board to your skill level and learning how to avoid potentialy damaging situations. You shouldnt be catapulting long ??? (or far ???) But boards will always get damaged.

Bin the deflectors and board padding. Enjoy the board; get it reapaired after crashes and take care. It could be you needing the repair !!! Mate of mine catapulted onto a submerged (unseen) groin. Luckily hit it with his thigh.

[nakaniko]

I agree that ugly protectors sticked to the board arent't the most wonderful solution, but when you're an intermediate rider like me and spend a huge amount of money (not my case at the moment, except Serenity) because of the actual board prices, it's not so easy to enjoy a day windsurfing thinking at the danger of waisting a so beautiful and precious board... The proof is the production by a lot of windsurf board brands of the dedicated nose protectors, so it's possible to sell a lightweight board but then give the way to protect it even adding weight...
I don't agree that one has to wait to have the proper skill level to buy an advenced board, in this way you close the market of the better boards to a lot of people. And therefore as many says "shit happens" and the most skilled rider can break the nose for unlucky situation. In my experience, I broke the nose not in huge waves, but for sudden holes of wind when passing a small wave.
The question is why brands doesn't care on production to protect in a special way the nose and the rails in the hull zone, where happens 90% of breackage problems
I've read about dynema fantastic properties, it's strong so a single sheet of dynema wrapped on the edges of board could be the solution for ALL boards, not only for beginner or wave-expert ones. But only some custom brands like witchcraft or a slovenian one seems to push the dynema. Yes, a full dynema board it's pricy, but a single sheet over the hull...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29Fz...layer_embedded go to 1'20" urgh forgive me one of the test-before boards is an old SB..