ducati said...

I reckon it would make a good horse collar

beats putting gunky stuff all over your new board

Yep must admit thats what I thought when i got it but Ive paid for the #!##$ thing so I suppose I better use it!

Recently put the JP Protector (about $80 from WSS) on my new Naish Global Freeride 130L board. Yes it was a hard decision to deface my board but I reckon its worth it to reduce the risk of destroying the rather thin nose.

I also put a pool noodle onto my 170L starboard go to prevent the learners from destroying it when they drop the mast onto the nose. The JP does not suit the Go as the Gos have a very round outline where the JP is designed for either a qquare nose, slightly rounded or pointy nose depending on which of the three supplied nose pieces you use.

I tried using velcro stuck onto the board and the protector initially but it doesnt want to stick to the board so well and the velcro wont handle sand too well anyway.

Glued both on with selleys all clear silicon sealant (get someone to give you a hand and tape it down onto the board with a few laps of electrical tape or masking tape to keep it in position whilst the silastic is setting), sat boards out in sun over a few days (with bungs out) and they don't look so bad and I feel more inclined to rip tear and go for it. used both boards several times and they wont fall off - set hard and solid.

see the boards website for more info on doing the job and preparation
http://www.boards.co.uk/articles/index.asp?ID_A=177&article_type=50

maybe overkill but I aslso invested in a NP mast protector for about $20 that clips onto the mast and boom!

hope this helps

I recently purchased a Pro-Limit combo boom/mast protector (http://www.pro-limit.com/displayitemv10comp.php?item_id=6093) for my near new Fanatic Hawk after reading in online forums of many Hawks suffering smashed noses from crash damage. Unfortunately the mast pad section below the boom turned out to be useless when used with my 245cm 93L Hawk as the pad doesn't cover the mast where it would make contact with the nose of the board (not sure if the Gaastra or NP ones have the same problem). Mast pad section also stops bottom camber on my 6.0 cambered sail from rotating properly.

I ended up purchasing a Chinook mast base pad (www.chinooksailing.com/products/product_info.php?cPath=6_60&products_id=144) from Stuart Bell Sails in Nedlands WA which I turned upside down and clipped on the mast in the area where the mast would contact the nose, with the velcro strap going loosely around the mast at the bottom of the boom cutout. Have had a moderate impact with mast on nose so far but no damage done and the pad appears to rotate ok around the bottom camber on my 6.0.