Broken Mast Track and Centerboard Flaps on F2 Strato

Question
Hi-

Thanks for your earlier answer on the sails.  I picked up the F2 Strato and I am really excited about it.  

I have two questions for you.

1) The rubber (?) flaps that are on the bottom of the board and  around the centerboard are dry rotted and falling apart due to the age of the board and the storage conditions.  What do you recommend I do to replace them.  I'm assuming part of the function is to keep the water from going into the centerboard box and onto the board

2) The "automatic" adjustable track is broken.  The good thing is the mast is stuck in the center position of the track.  The plastic button on the deck which you push down to release the mast appears to have broken underneath where it attaches to something.  You can just flip the button up and back down very easily without having any tension or pressure.  It just "flaps" which to me indicates something is broken.  What do you recommend here?

Thanks in advance

Luis

Answer
Hey Luis,

Here is an online shop that may have what you need. Look under windsurfing parts. Some parts may be made by a different manufacturer but still work for your board. My guess is that the Mistral parts will match most closely. You may have to make small modifications.

www.oceanairsports.com

The rubber seals do prevent water from coming up through the board. The only problem of not having them is that there will be a bit more drag on the board and water will flow up onto the deck while sailing. As for the mast track, being stuck in one place shouldn't be much of a problem as long as it can't move while sailing.

You might be able to replace the track with a new one but you would need to talk to the above shop directly about dimensions.

There is also a possibility of converting your current mast track to work with a modern mast base and you can set the position based on conditions.
Take a close look at the track and if the track is slotted, it might be convertible. If you can get a good close up picture or give me a good description of how the track looks and operates, I may be able to determine if you can convert it. The conversion is very inexpensive.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover