Good evening, folks. So, I've been searching for a way to transition from waves to wind. Took some lessons a few years back, had a skinny old Tiga in San Diego which I never got the hang of, got some "modern booms and an old Hi Fly Spirit 345 (no mast base) off of a junk pile, but, as of today, got my hands on a mint Original Wayler- complete! "Fun for the whole family"! It even has the original intro manual! I know many are already saying, "why?" But when the budget' s tight and the price is right... at least it'll get me in the wind! I've got another beginner lesson booked with Zu Boardsports and feel like I've read and watched everything available but I wanted to put it out there to see if anyone's got any advice for essentially a 40yo new guy. Thanks for all the reading material thus far and is a modification for a Chinook mast base something that I should look at for the future? Anyway, stoked for now and Cheers!

You might care to see if your budget can stand the cost of a clamp-on boom, either new or second hand.

Clamp-on booms were invented because of the difficulties attaching the rope-on boom (yours) to the mast.

Welcome to the sport and I hope this helps.

Thanks and done. The first board I tried to start with had a tie-on and even a stint in the Navy reserve didn't prepare me for that! I've got a clamp-on for the "storm sail" which I'll 've using for a while but the main sail is massive and the boom is like 2.6m long. Makes me wonder if that's enough of a reason to go to a new sail (when I get there). Cheers and thanks for the welcome, mate.
*mortified as I just caught my autocorrect of Wayler to "waler". Ugh. Doh.

WindNoob,

Chinook make a clamp-on boom that will fit your sail: chinooksailing.com/collections/rdg-carbon-booms/products/2017-pro-1-alloy-boom-225cm-287cm-29mm (the 29mm refers to the boom arm diameter). If this looks interesting, you might take your mast to The Zu or SHQ and make sure that your mast diameter will fit into the jaw of a standard Chinook boom, as I think that a boom that length would have to be a buy-in.

In passing, a newbie would normally begin with a sail no bigger than about 5.0m (this could be your storm sail), then progress to the bigger sail as you get experience.

Awesome- taking time to graduate to a big sail will give me time to save for that boom. I'm also keen to get to the point where I can ride an old Hifly Spirit 345 but I'm missing the mast base. Are these ones hard to find? I just pressure washed 20 years of weather off of her and she looks pretty good now! What goes in here?:




(This is pre-washing, btw...)

Hi WindNoob,
The trick to tie an old boom is to first tie when its in line with the mast then rotate it 90deg to correct position.....this tightens the ropes (in fact its possible to tighten the ropes so much it actually cracks the mast).

Here is a link to some info..but you can google other options.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Help-Rigging-a-Boom?page=1

That said, getting a new boom may be a smart investment anyway because aluminium booms do corrode internally and will eventually break.

Haha- I've cracked a mast once. Ouch! I'm pretty good for aluminum booms as I managed to find 2 90's clamp-ons with a 5m battoned sail out of England and a HiFly racing sail (7m?) from Germany. The 2 piece mast fits the big sail and the slightly shorter single fits the 5m and seems the same as the one with the Wayler- all fiberglass. Maybe I should just look to graduate to the battoned 5m and not worry about the big Wayler sail and the enormous tie-on boom. Shame to not ride it as originally intended but I'm also pretty sure that newer stuff gets made for a reason, right? Just got confirmation for my next lesson this Sat and my wife let the cat out of the bag that I've got an intermediate lesson for Christmas. Stoked! Wish me luck for some easy beginner weather on Sat! What section of the forums is best to ask about that HiFly mast base question? Cheers.

Re the connection problem, try this with the photos: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General

I learnt on a Waler like that back in '84. I have a Mistral Equipe2, love it too

Select to expand quote

WindNoob said..
Awesome- taking time to graduate to a big sail will give me time to save for that boom. I'm also keen to get to the point where I can ride an old Hifly Spirit 345 but I'm missing the mast base. Are these ones hard to find? I just pressure washed 20 years of weather off of her and she looks pretty good now! What goes in here?:




(This is pre-washing, btw...)

You have two options , find an original base bung that will fit in the hole , or ,make a bung that has an 8mm threaded hole that will take all modern systems . I would go the second option . Buy a second hand adjustable mast extension and base ( $50 ) and it will fit your old gear and any new gear you will buy .
pm me and ill make a bung for you . You just have to get the board to Clayton . Its a love job and will take half hour tops .

Got the Wayler out in the Lorne bay today. Not too successful. Have a clamp-on boom on a small sail and the boom is head-high, as low as it goes in the old sail. Managed to sail in one direction but couldn't get back- kept feeling like the wind (breeze) kept changing direction on me! Had to do the walk of shame back then my wife got some waves on it sitting down with a kayak paddle. Maybe time for a real mast and sail... .

WN,

Sounds like the mast doesn't match the sail. Either the mast is too long and/or the top of the inside of the sail is hitting the top of the mast.

As a guide, when the boom is correctly positioned, it should be ABOUT shoulder/chin high when you are standing on the board and the boom is horizontal (you can try this on land if the board is on the beach and the fin is in a small hole). As a learner, I'd go for shoulder high so that you have leverage on the boom as the wind is hitting your sail. Others may care to comment on the position.

As you said, it may be time for a real mast and sail. You could also do well to talk to other windsurfers on the beach, to see what their set up looks like. May I ask, where do you sail in Melbourne?

Hope this helps.

Thanks, WindmanV. I haven't sailed in Melb yet but I'm thinking Sandringham will be my go-to just for calmer waters. Imax is maybe going to show me a thing or two down in Fankston next week but I'm also going for a lesson at Zu (2nd attempt at having enough for the group). I'm still putting it down to a highlight that I at least sailed in one direction today! I think I'm going to swap out to the old tie-on boom and the original storm sail. Surely that will solve the boom height issue til a new rig appears!

WN,

Sandringham harbour is a great place to learn. Shallow water and usually calm winds. Just be aware that there are usually parking fees applicable after about 8am each day.

Evening!
So, had my lesson yesterday on a metre-wide board, 5m sail and had a ball. Got to simple tack without the uphaul and was pretty happy. Got a place in South Frankston for a week and took out the old Wayler with the "storm sail" and had much more success this time! One thing I couldn't work out was that the wind seemed to change direction on me- is this just a normal part of sailing in the bay or is it just part of sailing? The other thing is how much easier it seems on my normal surf-stance side compared to my goofy side but I guess it just takes some time? Now the real question:
Is anyone familiar enough with the Wayler to tell me where it's balance point actually is? The beginner board had an oval on the deck to show me but I tried sailing with my front foot both in front and behind the mast and, as much as one should probably be able to feel it, I just couldn't work it out. Any guesses? Finally, I'm 5'10" and had the boom down as far as it goes (original board, mast base, mast, and sail) and it was juuuust at shoulder height so, for my wife, how did shorter people sail these things? I bought it from a 60yo woman who used to sail it but the booms gotta be head-high at least on her, as will be on my wife. WTF? Was this just how it was done back in the day? Cheers!

I saw you out yesterday, and sail regularly at Frankston - don't beat yourself up, it was very light, fluky and offshore - as soon as it comes off the land at this spot, it is very tricky, so even Sthly is challenging - try SW and even better WSW, like today

Haha- thanks for making me feel better, Pete! Still had a ball and will be out with the fam today again as soon as the boy wakes up from the nap that I wish I were having!
Ps- just joined Inverloch Windsurfing Club this morning!

Hey, so coming out of the water today was a dude with a new LT Windsurfer and he told me I should realllllly get a life vest. Anyone willing to part with one for cheap for a 75kg guy? Cheers!

Go to windsurf shops they normally have second hand ones