Deviator

[bred2shred]

Cons - As mentioned, it can cause damage to other parts of the board - mast track, mast base. It can cause damage to YOU if you get pinched between it and the mast. It limits mast base location. It makes tacking more difficult. It can make water starting more difficult. It looks stupid.

Better to pad the nose of the board (NSI used to make double density nose pads). Pad the leading edge of the mast below the boom or use a boom bra (although most boards are so short these days that the boom head will not contact the nose of the board when set at an average height). Work through catapulting - it is a phase of learning that everyone goes through and most advanced sailors rarely catapult. Learn some basic fiberglass repair skills and fix your board if you ding it.

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[swchandler]

The idea that you can just pad the nose and rail of the board to prevent damage from mast or boom damage is flawed. How do you know that the board hasn't been damaged underneath the padding and will leak water into the board over time? I think you're best to pad the mast and boom, and leave it at that. If you damage your nose in an accident, you know the extent of it and can appropriately repair the damage.

Lastly, even the best sailors can be unexpectedly catapulted, and when it does happen, it will likely be at high speed. All one has to do is hit a submerged or unseen object in the water.

[AndreiA]

Personally I use fiberglass nose protector on my Shark. Catapulted many times - no damage so far.

Few years ago I sailed at North Padre Island. Asked rental - if they'd sell insurance (because I once broke the board nose catapulting). The answer was, with nose protectors, they hadn't had any accidents like that, - hence no need for insurance. That's when I was sold on nose protectors.

www.na-windsurfing.com

[EricJergensen]

This site is the bible of board repair...

http://www.boardlady.com/noseprotection.htm

She doesn't like the deviator and doesn't like unpadded fiberglass protectors.

[dsgrntlxmply]

I sailed with a Deviator on Bonaire rental boards, and detested the thing. I understand why the rental place used it, but that did not make me like it. At the time I was still entirely unable to waterstart and always uphauled. The Deviator often made it annoyingly difficult to bring the sail back around to the opposite side of the board or to turn the board under the sail.

For my own boards, I take an approach that most others would not. Using a combination of mold-making, sculpting, and casting, I go through many steps of tedium and toil to make a nose bra in stiff polyurethane (Smooth-On PMC-746 or PMC-780), and R and L topside rails from softer urethane (PMC-744) that extend down the length of the board from either side of the bra. The rails are quite thick: around 22mm to spread the impact loads.

Adhesion of the bra and especially the rails to the board is tricky. If anyone wants to know the details, ask.

This protection is remarkably effective, at least until I slam the mast into the board in an area beyond the protective rails.

A first generation attempt with a different soft polyurethane system was unstable in combined water and sunlight, and quickly developed gooey surfaces. The Smooth-On systems have performed remarkably well, even though they ought not to.

[isobars]

My nose and rail pads match my boards' color schemes, take 5-10 minutes to cut and install, and have been 100% effective on dozens of boards for decades despite multiple nose slams every session. They're a one-inch-wide strip of self-stick deck padding around the outer edge of my deck around the the nose and back a couple of feet, following the mast impact point contour. Simple, weightless, permanent, cheap, effective ... especially with a pad on the mast below the boom ... and they don't conceal potential blow-out damage beneath the rail or nose.

[J64TWB]

All this talk about nose protection is freaking me out. I've never had a problem. But all it takes is once I guess? The thought of foam all over my beautiful ride sounds hideous. Anyone know where I can find an ION mast pad in the US?

[johnl]

[beaglebuddy]