Setting up a Mistral One-Design Hull

The first step in preparing your board for the water is to make sure the hull is watertight. The places where your board is most likely to leak is on any of the seams and where any part is inserted into the board eg. towing eye, footstrap plugs etc..

For this job you will need the following:

CONSUMABLES

1x Super Strength Arildite 1x Small paint brush 1x Role of 15mm masking tape 1x Silicone sealant 1x 600 grit sandpaper

Step one - Preparation

Remove the centerboard cassette and mast track from the board and place to one side.

Raise your board off the ground and place it at a nice working height.

Use your masking tape and tape around either side of the seam on your boards rail. Make sure that the tape is placed either side of the seam and as close to the seam as possable.

Place masking tape around all of the footstrap plugs and the towing eye on the front of the board. Note:Some people choose not to mask the above and this may affect the re-sale price of your board.

Step two - Sealing the board

Mix Arildite onto a card. Make sure you have mixed equal parts of A and B. Use one of your brushes to place the Arlidite around the plugs that hold the mast track in place. Now go to the seam that is inside the centerboard case and give it a good covering of Arildite. Goto your footstrap plugs and seal those and your towing eye. Place the Arlidite around the whole rail.
Note: Make sure you take your time and cover the entire length of the rail well.

Step three - tape removal

While the glue is wet you can remove all the tape that you have used and place it in the bin. Be carefull that you peal the tape back on itself and slightly away from the seam.

Allow the arildite to dry for a few hours. While it is drying pull out your mast and work on it.

Step four - sealing the fin box

When your glue is dry, turn your board upside down and tape and seal your fin box. Note: You may have to do this twice as the glue might sink into the crack between the board and the fin box.

Step five - sanding

When all the glue is dried, sand the finbox so that the water flows over that area with ease use soapy water and your 600 grit sand paper

Step six - re packing

Replace all the fittings except the centerboard cassette. cover all screws that you replace cover them in silicone sealant before you screw them back in.