Refurbishing Mistral Superlights...need some suggestions.

va12 · Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 25

Thank you, Dan, I'll try to get in touch with him.

On the booties - I hope it was clear that I was attempting humor about wearing booties down here. I appreciate the suggestion. Somehow, I've always hated wearing any sort of footwear while in the water. I suppose I'm spoiled, having always been in warm water. Even on "cold" days when full suits come out, the feet stay bare.

pyronc · Joined: 02 May 2010 Posts: 2

I've never posted here before, but felt compelled to in this case. Ever since I discovered the Superlight 25 years ago, I've always had one in my quiver of boards. For cruising in sub-planing conditions they are awesome. They are not rotomolded, and do not have a seam. In fact, they have an epoxy skin, which is rather delicate, as you will find out the first time you drop a boom on the board. After damaging the original finbox with the spring loaded fin or simply for better performance, a lot of folks will mount a standard fin. Personally, I'm love the spring-loaded fin - I can do stuff like sail over sand bars in 5 inches of water, for instance. Nobody here seems to know about the "vent plugs", but here's the scoop - some early boards had a tether running from the mast base to the eye at the bow, should the rig pop out, as it easily can in this mast foot design - these "plugs" were merely to locate and secure this line. As a side note on the bootie question, I have met so many people whose bias against booties I can only describe as quasi-religious in nature - it tickles me a little. Practically, I think, it's mostly about what you're used to. I know that I'm very much the odd man out, but I have always worn booties, and I always wear booties, and I don't feel right without them. Cheers, Chris.

DanWeiss · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 2296 Location: Connecticut, USA

Chris, the leash plug was a requirement in Germany, I think, so almost all the boards from the early 1980s had one. I know Mistral continued to use these until a few years ago -maybe they still do. The leash plug is mounted on the bow, farther forward than the fitting in question. You can see the two fittings in the photo.

I'm totally with you on the Superlight's fin. What it lacks in performance it really makes up for in versatility and fun. I keep a Superlight in my garage for tons of old school fun. I've pulled it out and raced against modern longboards in light wind. Railing the board to windward and hanging down from the boom points the Superlight much higher than the huge planing longboards. On short courses, it's easy to be first to the top mark but not so easy to defend against 11.0 sails on the downwind with the original Regatta sail (something like a 6.3).

va12 · Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 25

Thanks for chiming in, Chris. What I was describing as the "seam" is the sharp edge on the rail. I always assumed it was a seam of some sort.

Today I took the oldest of my superlights and sanded it down top and bottom, found some small dings and some old ones that hadn't been repaired perfectly, filled them all with epoxy. A bit more patching next weekend and it will get a spray on paint job.

As to the rig leash - the system on the superlight was perfectly simple. There are two "ports" for the mast foot. The leash plug goes into the one you're not using for the mast.

This does not explain the "vent" as seen in that picture I posted. Interestingly, the old board I worked on today (original series with non-retractable daggerboard) does not have the vents.

And speaking of the retractable fins (which I also love and will keep until they break), the one on this old board is so small as to be laughable. It may get replaced with a powerbox someday.

va12 · Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 25

Update: I got some samples of EVA deck foam from North Shore, and this stuff is the cat's meow. Much grippier than anything I've ever seen, and obviously more comfortable. Not cheap, but I'm thinking it'll be worth it. Gonna start off with one board and see how it goes.

Board #2 got a good sanding today. Bad news - I found several repaired dings that I was unaware of when I bought it. Whoever fixed it up did a good job of both patching & painting it. But I felt compelled to sand it down and lay a light layer of cloth & glass over the patches. This one will definitely get an EVA pad.

Refurbishing boards is good stress relief. A few hours of scraping and sanding is good meditation.

va12 · Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 25

Am also designing some systems in my head for putting a standard mast foot on these. I have a machinist friend...if I can come up with the right design, it can be done.

This is probably overkill. I have four standard mast foot inserts for them.

DanWeiss · Joined: 24 Jun 2008 Posts: 2296 Location: Connecticut, USA

va12 · Joined: 24 Apr 2010 Posts: 25

I spoke to hm this past week, he didn't mention it.

The board I spent the most time on today has what I believe to be one of those bases. Very nice indeed, but something that would allow the use of a standard foot would be superior.