Old BIC mast tracks - & New 12 6 Starboard SUPer.

[andy_Mass]

Hi,
My first post here.
I tried paddling an an old BIC (Budwieser promo) windsurf board last year.
DANG that thing is tippey.
It has been up in the floor joists of the basement for 15 or 20 years and SURPRISE it is all there, sail battens too.
Trouble is the mast base doesn't seem to fit the mast track and I can't find anyone around here who knows squat about windsurfing.
Are there "standards" for this stuff ? and have the standards of 15 or 20 years ago been thrown away ?
I think we had it out ONCE when it was new and it all fitted together then.
In the meantime kids have dragged it up and down the beach, broken the rear fin, ground sand into it, etc. while using it to belley surf (sort of).
I would be interested in at least getting it put back together and running it a few times.
So, what can I learn about mast bases ?
(or where can I find info on old ones ?)
==============================================
'nother topic;
I got a 12 6 Starboard SUPer last week and of course that has a 50cm dagger board, so I'm getting itchy to put a sail rig on it.
No "owners' manual" so although I see two tapped inserts about where a mast base would probably go ... I don't know what sort of mast base to shop for.
 
I still want to get that old BIC board moving under sail.

[Philn]

For the tapped inserts you want a one bolt twist on mast base like the Chinook:
http://www.chinooksailing.com/products/product_info.php?products_id=106
and a mast extension to go into your mast:
http://www.chinooksailing.com/products/product_info.php?cPath=5_38_41_44&products_id=130

Sails, masts and booms have progressed incredibly in the last 20 years (easier to rig, easier to use, lighter to carry, wider wind range), but you should be able to get your old sail, mast and boom going on the SUP once you get a mast foot and extension.

Can't help you with the BIC, but post some pictures here and on www.iwindsurf.com, somebody is sure to be able to help you.

[boardlady]

Andy: I have some old Bic bits in a box - post a pic of your board, and close-up of the mast base, and I check my collection
Eva

[andy_Mass]

Thanks folks,
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some pics and put them up tomorrow night.

Best,

Andy

[andy_Mass]

This should produce 3 pics of the mast base (on my bathroom floor) and 2 of the mast track (at the beach).

Thanks boardlady, I have just been reading your repair pages, great stuff.

[andy_Mass]

The mast base pics won't upload.
I have cropped them to get under 1 Meg and they are not open in another app.
I will try them one by one.

[andy_Mass]

OK, that might show enough, but I will try to get the other base pics up anyway.

[PonoBill]

I remember those buggers. As I recall you can file down a standard mast base nut (the brass T-nut) to slip into the slot. I think we also used to stick a router into the front of the slot to open it up a bit so the nut could be slipped down. Then you can use a standard Chinook base, but you have to shorten the screw.

[andy_Mass]

I remember those buggers. As I recall you can file down a standard mast base nut (the brass T-nut) to slip into the slot. I think we also used to stick a router into the front of the slot to open it up a bit so the nut could be slipped down. Then you can use a standard Chinook base, but you have to shorten the screw.

Thanks PonoBill,
So, I guess the old mast base is just about useless ?
I'll probably drop by a windsurfer shop today with it in my hand and look for a graybeard, get their "hands on" thoughts (-:

What I can't figure is how we ever got it together way back long ago.
We might have got drunk on it and quit, but I doubt that.
Even if it gets into the slot it will be off the board surface, which suggests there might have been some sort of a locking collar... something like that.

thanks again.

[gorgebob]

BIC made a two bolt version like the chinook. I would not waste time trying to find one but change over to the chinook  and have parts always available.

[boardlady]

got one! your's for the cost of shipping. if you want, I can send the uni as well, as a back-up
Eva

[Weasels wake]

Antique road show anyone?

That is some old scary looking stuff, and I'm willing to bet that the hourglass rubber joints on the uni's have gotten brittle over the years of storage.
Windsurf swapmeets, craigslist, or putting out some wanted adds of your own, would probably be a much better bet.
The gear of that vintage never really worked that well in the first place, as compaired to the equipment that's even 10 to 15 years old.  If you could get your hands on something that was made within the last decade you'll have a much better time, probably safer too.

No offence, but it had to be said.   

[PonoBill]

Actually that was a pretty stout setup, and I'd take eva up on it just to have the real stuff. But yes, you could use a modern one bolt chinook base, and I think you only have to take a tiny amount off the sides of the nut. If you're going to buy one, get the Euro extension--much easier to get together or apart

[andy_Mass]

OMG, how GENEROUS ?
I can't POSSIBLY refuse that.
SOMEHOW, at some point,  "I will find a way to repay".

I'll get my address to you off-line and figure how to send you a m/o for the shipping.

THANKS !!!!

[boardlady]

its all good! I've been recycling old windsurfing equipment for many years now, primarily to entice local kids to the sport. If I can occasionally provide the "missing link" for a fellow SUPper, so much the better!