Does anyone know of a good relatively inexpensive nose guard for a Sailboard? Not keen on "The Deviator" but just want something streamlined to protect the nose from scuffs & the occasional bump (I use a boom & mast pad). Maybe some sort of flexible stick on channel?

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forsyth said..
Does anyone know of a good relatively inexpensive nose guard for a Sailboard? Not keen on "The Deviator" but just want something streamlined to protect the nose from scuffs & the occasional bump (I use a boom & mast pad). Maybe some sort of flexible stick on channel?

Many years ago I used mast base pads as well as padding on the boom front end but I always found that it was the section of mast between these two pads that impacted onto the nose of the board in a stack, so came up with this idea after smashing the nose on my JP FSW (pictured with nose cone repair) and now use this nose protector every time (modified Chinook mast base pad used upside down). Works fine with both cammed and no-cam sails:

Noticed that Mystic do one similar, though not sure whether it would stay where you want it too:

www.watersportsoutlet.com.au/2023-mystic-mast-board-protector-mastboardbk18-black-p-34348.html?products_id=34348&source=googleshopping&lang_ovd=en¤cy=AUD&gclid=CjwKCAjwzuqgBhAcEiwAdj5dRtP46gsDbx4CqrYZ_jFYq-t5agiiSPV3R2A4y26bJ1H8o-FB1YaNvRoCAPMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Info:
The Mystic Board protector ensures that your board is less likely to be damaged in the event of a crash. Protect your valuable surfboard easily but effectively with this board protector. Because the boards of today are a lot shorter than before, it is not the boom but the mast that can fall on the front of your board. The soft EVA layer protects your board by minimizing damage in the event of a catapult. This Mystic Board protector is easy to attach, you simply click it on your mast.

Another option:

wssboards.com.au/prolimit-boom-mast-protector/

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forsyth said..
Does anyone know of a good relatively inexpensive nose guard for a Sailboard? Not keen on "The Deviator" but just want something streamlined to protect the nose from scuffs & the occasional bump (I use a boom & mast pad). Maybe some sort of flexible stick on channel?

The cheapest and most effective method of nose protection for your board is simply NOT to let go the boom when you catapult. By holding onto the boom the mast rotates around the front of the board and you and the mast fall harmlessly round onto the leeward side of the board, missing the nose of your board. It's a bit daunting the first time you do it, but becomes second nature with practice. With time on the water, the frequency of catapults reduces significantly as you increase your skill.

I've learned forwards the hard way and broke the nose so many times. Never badly though and curiously not often enough for me to decide and use some kind of protection !

Here is mine, mast proof, I wrote up a detailed how-to-make under general windsurfing.

Which also comes with the downside of unseen damage underneath that then leaks
Tradeoffs.

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Sandman1221 said..
Here is mine, mast proof, I wrote up a detailed how-to-make under general windsurfing.

And for those who say you cannot tell if you have a crack under the glued down pad, just glue it to the deck at the center and each end, then you can lift up pad in between and look.

I probably will jinx myself for the following comment. I've only broke one board over the past +3 decades of windsurfing. Bad, bad, bad landing. Dufus should have bailed. Mast pad in the early years and now the built in pads seem to protect the rails and mast from hits. Have caused spider web cracks in the nose from hits. Guessing no bubbling after letting the board cook in the sun. So all is more or less ok. Foam safe super glue in the old days. Too brittle. SolarEZ much better. Personally, windsurfing I end up separated from the gear in a crash. Prefer not to hit or be hit my gear. So far, no boom hit damage to boards. Windfoiling, I hang on to reduce hitting or being hit by the foil. But I've hit the board a few times. Gotta like board rash and contusions when learning to foil.

Option to a deviator like device is the SurfBent. Use one on the foil board. Some note it can stress out the mast track insert. Not sure if they still manufacture boom bras. DaKine use to market one that attaches with couple velcro straps. I dug out from storage one to use on the boom for foiling and now windsurfing. Easier just to leave it on the boom. Pretty useless unless you go straight down, boomhead first onto the board. Padding might not add much to reducing damage in a real hard hit.

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GazMan said..
Noticed that Mystic do one similar, though not sure whether it would stay where you want it too:

Gazman/Forsyth
I have one of the Mystic mast protectors. It is semi-rigid with Velcro at one end so you insert it into the luff sleeve between the mast and the sail's tack. Only works for sails where there is sufficient room inside the sleeve for it to fit. I also have used a Surfbent, very easy to install/use. However, I stopped when it was pointed out in another thread last year that during a stack it could turn your mast into a 40-to-1 lever putting upward pressure on the mast track.

You could try a Jez's knob.
You put in your mast track in front of your mast. They divert the mast from the nose with very little hazard to the mast track. They just get in the way when tacking and water starting.

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GasHazard said..
You could try a Jez's knob.
You put in your mast track in front of your mast. They divert the mast from the nose with very little hazard to the mast track. They just get in the way when tacking and water starting.

Wow, haven't seen that before. Does anyone use it? I've been wary of the deviator due to mast track damage potential.

Looks like a butt plug guys .

Surf&sail WA sell them ,radz nose protector ,$44,could also be handy tying your board off on a buoy ,

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Imax1 said..
Looks like a butt plug guys .

Dare u to go see Jez and tell him.

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Mark _australia said..

Imax1 said..
Looks like a butt plug guys .

Dare u to go see Jez and tell him.

"It's our best seller...just not on the windsurfing site..."

Triage nurse to ER doc: We have another one in #2 who claims he slipped and fell while uphauling and that's how it got stuck. What's that, the third this month?