Sail your SUP without a mast base fitting

Want to sail your SUP but it doesn't have a mast base screw fitting? No problem.

Sometimes you want to sail but it's only 4-8 knots. Your SUP would be fun for a light wind cruise but it doesn't have a mast base screw fitting. Or maybe you have a light, fast flat water SUP that you know would sail better than your surfing SUP but it doesn't have the mast base fitting. Well, so


long as it has a carry handle moulded into it (on the centreline) you can make a mast base fitting easily like I did. I used 4 mast tip plugs, 25mm diameter. I glued a mistral mast base pin in one and screwed the star base bolt into it. I pushed 3 plugs into the carry handle and the one with the star base into the front of the handle slot. The flanged black rubber plugs are best. When they are all in they are a tight fit. Remove one and you can easily remove the others. Most people don't know but the Mistral and F2 pins are threaded internally and are screwed onto a standard mast base bolt. They have flats on 2 sides so you can unscrew them. Epoxy works fine to glue the pin into the mast plug.

So does it sail well? My Fanatic Fly Race carbon sails about as well as the Serenity and nearly as well as the Starboard K15, both of which I have owned. Of course they both had large bolt-in centreboards, which enabled them to point high but were a problem if the wind came up and were a drag to attach and detach. By using the leeward rail on my Fanatic I can point high enough to go places, and it's way more stable than a Serenity or K15 and much easier to pump with a 7.5 sail when the wind drops away. And it's way faster to sail on flat water in 4-8 knots than my Surfing SUP.

Great idea but how do I know if my Sup has the structural integrity for the extra weight of the mast & sail? Where do you find mast tip plugs?