Hi all

I have just got hold of a Ten Cate Runner to teach my daughter how to windsurf (she already sails dinghies). I know it's not the best or lightest board, but it was very cheap with a couple of sails, but no mast so I need a mast, mast step and universal joint. Any suggestions as to where I might get hold of something suitable, or modern equivalent? I'm in Tassie so a local source here would be good

thanks

Peter

Post some photos of the track & connector, as they used different systems around Oz.

Might help others help you solve the riddle

should be able to screw a TYRONSEA deck plate to the board,done it myself and worked well.then use the TYRONSEA base or retro to whatever you want.be wary of mast inside diameter,old 1 pce are smaller than 2pce. I use TYRONSEA deck plates on my land boards then a bogey[universal]with a uni pin on top to suit my mast ext.

http://www.hydrodynamix.com/tyronsea.html do the complete unit with a sleve ,that solves the mast size issue.

have you got any photos of the mast track. i have a box full of uni joints for these vintage boards i might be able to help you out .

I would suggest you buy a complete kids rig, somewhere between 3.5 and 5 m. More expensive than buying just a mast but a lot lighter and more usable than an old eighties TC rig. The boom length on old sails tends to be pretty long, those sails will probably need a 4.6m mast which in low carbon content will be heavy and hard to learn with.

Al

Thanks for the responses so far. I perhaps should have realised that there's been massive steps forward in boards and designs since I had my Windsurfer OD so many years ago!!!

Anyway, hope this works. Here is a photo of the maststep of the board:


Any further help appreciated

Peter

Al, where do most of the guys buy gear such as masts etc in Tassie? Back in "my day" it was Yacht Distributors and Tamar Marine!!

Peter

PS I'm in Launceston

I threw away one of those uni joints a few months ago!

I seem to recall that the socket is too small in diameter to accept a Mistral or Tyronsea type uni pin. You could perhaps either epoxy a washer into the mast slide to take a Tyronsea "deck plate", or simply buy a block of bronze or stainless with a hole threaded big enough to just fit inside the track when dropped in at an angle. Then you can lift it to the horizontal (so the track "lips" stop it from escaping) and attach a Tyronsea style deckplate and uni (about $90 from Windgenuity) or just a good old-fashioned style uni with the bolt screwing straight into the hole in the block.

If you don't want to mess around with that, get a normal waveboard deckplate or uni and a bunch of washers in increasing sizes to fit around the bottom screw/metal thread/bolt whatever. The smallest washer should be the normal size for the screw; then between than and the uni, fit a larger washer, then probably one or two more until you have ended up with a washer wide enough to only just fit into the slot in the mast track at an angle. Hold the whole bunch of washers up against the underside of the track lips with one hand, insert the bolt at the base of the uni or deck plate with the other, and then thread on a nut underneath the stack of washers and tighten it up.

I've got the same system (only two washers as the track is narrower) on one of my boards and it works well if you don't want to slide it up and down too much, which is not something you need to do all the time on a Runner.

The Runner is a good old board, and good old boards can be brilliant for kids as they are tough, they sail really well in light winds, and they keep upwind well. They are particularly good for kids who can already sail, as they have fewer balance problems and appreciate light-wind sailing , exploring and upwind performance.

Most of our kids and teens (about 4-6 at a couple of clubs, 10 or so at a couple of others) are on Windsurfer One Designs, with one on a Runner and a few on Raceboards or just starting on wide boards.

That's NOT to say that a short fat modern board is not better in lots of situations, because in many situations they are (ie if it's always choppy and windy). But the long old boards are also excellent in their own conditions.

The rig is the important thing - the lighter the better. Old rigs are generally pretty crappy due to cloth and layout etc; the Runner's stock sail isn't too bad for its age and perhaps lighter than many modern sails. However, it's big and long-boomed for learning on and the old wavesailors or pinheads many use are horrible.

Select to expand quote

WOD said...

I threw away one of those uni joints a few months ago!

or simply buy a block of bronze or stainless with a hole threaded big enough to just fit inside the track when dropped in at an angle. Then you can lift it to the horizontal (so the track "lips" stop it from escaping) and attach a Tyronsea style deckplate and uni (about $90 from Windgenuity) or just a good old-fashioned style uni with the bolt screwing straight into the hole in the block.

I agree... but even cheaper: it won't need to hold much weight with a kid uphauling it and sailing around. Stainless is hard to work with for most ppl, and brass is hard to find. Get a piece of 5mm thick ally plate (any boat manufacturer will have) and tap it for the deck plate that uses one bolt... the one where you turn the deckplate to screw it into a square nut which is brass and about 15mm square. Really all you are doing is making a bigger version of that brass nut as WOD suggested
Then you have (approx) 30mm square ally x 5mm thick - free
One tap same thread as deck plate: $10 max at hardware store?
Deck plate: common Chinook one second had at any WS shop... maybe $15 - $20?
Strewth if you get stuck I have one....

If you want a tyronsea mast extension PM me and I will give it to you. I'm in Launceston