Epoxy pedal update and more Mistral Equipe mast track repairs

Cast epoxy Mistral pedals not a success!

I had high hopes that these replacement mast track pedals might offer a cheap and simple solution to the unavailability of parts without the work of my hand cut ones. But, it wasn't to be. This one failed on testing after maybe 20 uses so I won't be wasting any more time on them.

Read about the hand made nylon pedal 

More Mistral mast track repairs

A windsurfing buddy of mine has recently acquired an Equipe 2. He dropped the mast track around to me for repair as it needed a pedal and also repair to the white lever which releases the rope grabbers.

This is the other common failure and it is caused by corrosion of the "stainless steel" pin which attaches the foot pedal to this lever. The rust expands and bursts open the plastic part.  Mildly corroded pins can be cleaned up with sandpaper or if the rust is really bad you can make your own replacement pin from 3mm stainless steel bar which is readily available online.

I cut two small stainless steel rings from a Hep2O plumbing support sleeve.

It's very hard to cut these small rings off without using a wooden support inside the tube.

I carefully prepared the area beforehand with sandpaper to provide a key for the glue and glued these around the lever using epoxy as well as filling the crack with glue. Once the glue had set I ran a 3mm drill through the lever to clear the hole.

I hand cut another pedal from a solid piece of nylon and fitted that once the glue had dried. It works fine and should last reasonably well. I'm getting faster at cutting them out. The key is accurate marking and cutting.

Interestingly, the early yellow coloured Equipe I have got had no corrosion to its pin. The pins that seem to corrode the most are from later boards. Perhaps the stainless steel was of inferior quality?

If you're struggling to get your mast track apart, this video is very helpful