Former Addict, Now a Noob: Mast Question

[isobars]

I thought about that just as I hit "Submit", and didn't bother to correct it. I feel the same way about my recently purchased old ... er, vintage ... boards.

[deminimis]

Haha! The only vintage piece of equip that bugs me (other than the prickly pear mast) is my neon pink, yes, pink, bent all to hell Chinook boom. I did upgrade that finally (blue). There was a bit of pink shadowing on my '90 West Wind epoxy board (my first board -picked it up at the shop in Corpus), but that's pretty much faded away. My custom glass board from mid-decade is purple and green. Can't do nothing about that, except embrace it's retro godliness. I ought to get a Nirvana sticker and slap in on there, just 'cause.

[cgoudie1]

I just have a thought on your prickly mast. I've had good sucess
sealing up masts which are giving off fibers, by spraying them with
a good coat or 2 of clear acrylic spray paint. they'll be heavier, but
the smart money would be on new RDMs, so if you need to keep
what you have, this might buy you some additional years service.

Maybe your sails are vintage enough for 1 piece Ampro greys?
They're really cheap if you can find them. ;*)

-Craig

p.s. my new 2015 OO is pink, and white ;*)

[LeeD]

Maybe save the beating around the bush and just say WHAT sails you have, so we can tell you if they are RDM compatible.
Personally, I think most non cammed sails work fine with RDM, but the skinny's are a bit softer, require longer boom and longer downhaul settings.
8'9" WestWind? Great board for 5.0-7.0.

[deminimis]

Craig, with the prickly mast, I mixed up a thin batch of resin, coated it and squeegeed the excess off. Was a temp fix even then and the mast needed to be retired. I wouldn't trust it for flying a flag.

Sails. One Wind Wing 5.2. My others are North. Most are one-off wave prototypes. They all need a std mast and I'm good with that.

Man, you're taxing my brain. I think my Westwind is a 9'2". I can't recall for sure. Guess I'd better get out the tape. It's a prefect 5.2-6.0 board. Only board I had (and 5.2 sail) for my first year in HR back in '91. Used to get catapulted on a regular basis. I even made the stomp pads when doing piece work for whatever long gone pad company I occasionally worked for (earned just enough for the occasional beer). Ended up going through a number of boards back then, but always held onto the WW. Tough board (alumn honeycomb foam infused deck).

Anyway, I'll snag a mast this weekend from Bart and see if I can still crash jibe (that's the best I can hope for).

[LeeD]

Windwing wave sails work RD or SDM.
North says their Zeta's are SDM, but work just fine with RDM. Add 1.5" on downhaul collar and 1" on outhaul.

[deminimis]

Well if you can't hijack your own thread, whose can you hijack? The WW is a 9'2". Rarely used the board after '91 as it was often too big here. Haven't laid eyes on it for so long that I forgot I did the stupid paint drizzle thing on it. Hey, I was 25 years old and lacking artist talent (and, perhaps, taste).

[cgoudie1]

I like your drizz, but that is a pretty large board. Could be good
for mid 6s and 15MPH though. I could have ridden that last Friday
at The Hatchery or (the horror) Viento.

-Craig

[LeeD]

9'2" boards are ideal for sites with winds from 16-24 mph, sites like the Event Site, Mosier, HomeValley, and anywhere the winds don't blow over 26 mph.

[deminimis]

I gave up the event site/marina 20+ years ago and started hanging out mostly in Rufus (after getting whacked a couple of times by kook masts). That's why it became a time capsule. Now, oddly, I find myself back at the event site learning something completely different. I think I may update the pads/straps and let The Nuggets play with it while I'm busy tangling myself up in lines.