Best mast foot plate for changing on the water?

LeeD · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 1175

2 very wrong things.
Don't hold your rig, lay the mast extension and lower part of the sail on the front of your board while you mess with the mast base.
NEVER EVER jump off your board to plug in the rig.
Instead, SIT on your board, lay the sail out to the side across the board, bend the uni joint by holding the basecup (pins aligned, it's EASY), and shove the mast extension over the basecup, pins aligned.
If you get off your board, the swell bounces the board and you up and down, not in syncronization, while the mast extension bounces a third rythum.
If you sit ON your board, all 3 things rise and fall in unison.

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

justall · Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 442

bamer · Joined: 16 Nov 2016 Posts: 98

Thanks to keycocker for turning this thread around. Plenty of sailors adjust their mast foot on the water, especially racers that are tuning and may not be near shore or just want to make adjustments faster.

Like keycocker, I have done this a few hundred times myself without incident and agree the Streamlined single bolt works the best.

Most mast tracks have a lip built into them towards the back of the track, so if you release just enough tension so the foot can slide, but not more than this, the foot can not slide out the back.

But, if you are worried about the foot sliding out the back, why not make a rubber safety plug to fill the hole in? Just find something soft but sturdy, trace the outline on it with a marker, and shape the thing with a palm sander until it is a press fit. Drop the mast foot in, press in the safety plug and go sailing. When you need to pop the plug out just slide the foot forward and get under the plug with a screwdriver. Or you can just leave the plug in and unthread the mast base from the tab and leave the tab in the track.

+1 on LeeD's technique does work for reattaching things if they come apart.

Not everyone sails on a river where it is easy to come in, on boards unresponsive to mast track position, or in consistent/ ideal conditions. Adjust away, just be aware that things can come apart if you are not careful, so practice everything from adjusting to reattaching in a safe place before you do it for real in a dangerous one.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

NW
Sure. As long as the beach is right there.
How about when the wind goes light and you want to get back to the beach six miles away in your 72 liter board?
Do you bag the sail, move the foot?
Do you swim your gear?
How about when the wind goes marginal after you spent an hour working to windward?
If you go shore it is likely over for you, while we sail another hour with adjustments we made miles upwind.
Learning to do this far out at sea is a dumb idea, just like learning to jibe or up haul.
Not knowing how to do this at all seems like a dumb idea too, just like not learning to jibe or up haul.

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

I have never tried to move the mast foot offshore by unhooking the extension.
That seems dangerous.
Sit on the board, unscrew a little. Won't slide? Jump off and hold the board on its side with one arm wrapped around it and slide the foot with your other hand.
I have never had the foot slide out the back of the slot.
I leave the foot in the slot year around. It gets hard to remove in any case out the back of the slot, but still easy to slide because I do it more often.
Offshore I unscrew it until it barely slides because if you unscrew it too far it can be a hassle to screw back.

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

If I'm sailing at a spot at low tide that's a minefield of rocks and barnacles to come in, I will adjust my outhaul on the outside if the wind drops. But that's the extent of rigging changes I make on the water.

In my comments earlier in this thread, I think some clarification is needed. My foolish attempt to adjust my universal position was due to the fact that apparently failed to tighten the universal properly before going out, and it moved to the front of the mast track while sailing. It wasn't because I felt the need to tweak my tuning because of the conditions. When it comes down to it, the only times that I move my mast track position is due sail size, and that's done before I launch. If I'm on a small board using a larger sail than what would be ideal, I will move the universal a bit more forward to balance things out. Similarly, when using a very small sail on a larger board, I will move the universal a bit more back in the track. Otherwise, I keep the universal in the optimum position, which tends to be right in the middle of the track.

The way that I look at, I use my experience in tuning my equipment, and then practice caution on the water. Other than tweaking the outhaul, I find that there is no need to change downhaul or mast track positions while out on the water. Now, if I blow it tightening the universal and it slides to the front of the track, I will live with it until I can sail in and correct the problem. Better to be safe than sorry.