mast base position

combs · Joined: 01 Apr 1997 Posts: 130

Have a question for the forum: What dictates where you position your mast base plate? I have come across two schools of thought and wondering which is more appropriate, or if there are other theories out there:

1. Mast base should be positioned to reflect the size of the sail being used, i.e move base forward for bigger sails, move base aft for smaller sails.

2. Mast base should be positioned to reflect how powered you are going to be for the expected conditions, i.e. move mast base forward when overpowered, move mast base aft when under powered.

Do you adjust your mast base position? If so, when and why??

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

Just do what is comfortable and balanced for for you and your sailing style. Base position, harness line position. foot strap position and sail size all need to be set up so that your riding balanced. Board flat on the water and the harness taking most of the load. Adjust things until it all works for you...

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Once adjusted for a given board, I never bother to change it over the board's full sail range. That is (was?) also Robby Naish's preference. Is that optimal? I dunno; I just wanna go windsurfing, and I may plug several sails into a board if the wind is highly variable. Unless we'e racing for big bucks we can cover a lot of sins with stance, weight bias, etc.

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

....
http://windsurfing.lepicture.com/tips-and-tricks/
Under mast foot positioning, everything you need to know.
Under normal circumstances a rule of thumb is 1cm adjustment per sail size.

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Also....
Top freestylers place their mast base around 17" from the center of their front straps.
Slalom pros closer to 24".
Wave sailors around 18".
Freeride around 21.5.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

I adjust the base when I get a new board. Moving it forward pushes the nose of the board down & moving it back lets the nose/board ride a little higher. My wave & freestyle boards tend to have it back while slalom & freeride have it more forward.

Coachg

U2U2U2 · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:55 am Post subject:

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

I should add that sometimes an inch can make or break a small board. We tested a Seatrend sinker decades ago that beat the hell out of us with the mast in the center of the track. 1" further forward dramatically improved its ride in chop. That suggests experimenting with mast base positioning on a new board until it feels optimized, then Gorilla Glueing it in place. Not literally, of course, but you get the picture.

jpf18 · Joined: 13 Aug 2000 Posts: 347 Location: San Francisco

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

Depends on the board. On my biggest gear, 5.7, in marginal wind, one board needs the base forward to get upwind and loses speed. My hugest board 99 Carve does good with base back. Less wetted surface more speed. My smaller boards work good in the middle. Smallest board I'm not racing. Experiment. Guy I sail with always complaining the tracks are too far back?? Shocked

Maybe more important to move your footstraps fore or aft than the base if something doesn't feel right ???