old mistral parts

Question
I saw an old answer in which you mentioned knowing some sources for old mistral windsurfer parts. I have an old mistral board. The only model designation I find is that it's a 'Superlight', which is painted in blue on top, near the rear of the board. The 'Mistral'logo is molded into the flat butt-end of the board and painted red. A round silver label near the nose has the number 181583 on it. The rear spring-mounted fin (blue) is set in a housing that then fits down into a depression in the board, and is held in place with a screw at either end. This housing is getting brittle around the top flange of this housing (best word I can think of),and starting to break up. At some point the fin is going to break loose. Any ideas on finding a replacement fin housing?

Background: It's an old board with a straight mast and triangle sail with 'sea & ski' lettering on it. Don't know if sail is original. I know the centerboard is not original, but I've adapted it to work well enough with the board. It's used lightly by myself, my kids and their friends on camping trips. I'd love to keep it going a few more years.

Second question: Should I coat the board with some sort of resin to help it last longer? Except for a couple of repaired spots, the surface is smooth, but has no gloss to it. It is mostly used in salt water.

Answer
Hey Sherman,

The two resources I've found for older Mistral parts are oceanairsports.com and bigwinds.com. You may need to call them about a replacement fin/fin box for your old Superlight. The only other thing I can suggest is watching ebay and local craigslist ads. Search for windsurf, windsurfer, windsurfing to find all listings.

As for coating the board, there is not really anything to coat it with. The best thing is to inspect it thoroughly for any breaks in the shell of the board. As long as the shell is intact, it should not be taking on any water. Otherwise, keep it out of the sun during non use times and repair any dings that break the shell. For repair material, look for Chinook Ding Stick at oceanair for an easy to use repair.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover