Hi Guys and Girls,
Just a quick question, I recently bought a mistral Equip second hand rig. Ive had afew problems with the mast base sliding along the mast track when i pull up on the uphaul.
Ive pulled out the mast track and with my lack of skills i doubt i can fix it, so im just going to "dodgy it up abit" 
Ive read that most sailors prefer the mast foot 1.35m from the back of the board, would this suit a beginner ? I current use a 5.5 M slalom sail. in light wind conditions at good old Narrabeen lake. I was just going to use some Dowel to prevent the base from sliding. so i can adjust it later as my skill set improves.
Thanks for any assistance
1.35 works for the modern short wide boards but it will probably be too far back for the Equipe. Some of the DAC boys might be able to give you a better number.
I doubt the masttrack will go to 1.35m from the tail.
The equipe is a fantastic raceboard. It is not the same thing as a more conventional "modern style" board, so the rules that apply to those boards do not apply to the Equipe.
As a rule of thumb, put the track forward to go upwind (entreboard fully down), the middle for lighter wind reaching (centreboard partially raised), and the back for higher wind reaching (centreboard fully raised).
If you are not going to repair the track then you need to set and forget. This means you will almost always be in a compromise situation. I would suggest that the middle of the track will be the best compromise, but that will make it a lot more difficult to get into the footstraps. But then again getting into the footstraps is not as big a deal as on a smaller board. The Equipe will reward correct foot placement for the conditions rather then restriction based on the footstrap locations. The straps are optimally located for railing the board upwind and reaching when it gets windy.
If C249 gets on here he will probably give the best advice as he continues to be a champion of raceboard use in Sydney. He will probably suggest that you will get lots more range from your board if you fix the track - and I would agree.
JB
Hi Guys,
Thanks for your input, its greatily appreciated, I would much rather fix the board than dodgy it up, but i would kick myself in my own ass if i accident destroyed it while trying to fix the mast track.
I might just take it to a windsurfing shop and let a person who actually knows what they are doing attempt to repair it.
can anyone suggest a windsurfing shop that may be able to repair the mast track if i remove it from the board and bring it in, I live near chatswood.
Once again thanks alot for your input.
Matt, sorry for hijacking your thread, but does anyone have an Equipe or F2 Lightning in Sydney that they want to offload?
I don't think you'll get a raceboard cheap these days. I've been trying for a while but they rarely go for less than $400 in good condition on eBay. Someone always out-bids me for the One Designs as well. Probably the DAC guys. 
I must be the major one pumping up the prices in Sydney as I seem to often miss out by a small margin. If I don't bid, then they go for next to nothing. 
Matt, below is the web site for WINDSURFnSNOW. It is the only windsurfing shop-front in Sydney:
wssboards.com.au/
Matt,
If you are still having issues tell us what the actual issue is (inclue some photos). There are some smart guys (I said "some" - not "a lot" 
) that lurk here that may be able to suggest how you can get the track back into working order.
Put the track in the middle and get on the water more, but you should really try hard to get the track working properly - you will kick yourself if you dont.
JB
