Vintage Windsurfer parts?

I came across a free Mistral Superlight on CL that just screamed out cheap summer fun for my kids.

Only thing that is missing is the mast base (correct term?).

From the limited searching I've done, it appears I need something that resembles this:

or 

Any leads on something like this that is isn't $100?    Maybe a DIY solution?

First off, there's no real DIY solution to this. It's probably less painful to just spend the $100 on the proper part. Unless of course that you get the proper part and start windsurfing, and then it's going to be really painful.

Have you ever done any windsurfing? I had one for about ten years, and I found it to be a sunny form of torture. I was much happier on the day that I sold it than on the day that I bought it. Make sure you get a harness, or your back, arms and shoulders will turn to garbage.

At least Mistral is a major brand and the part shouldn't be impossible to find.

Windsurfing should be reserved for those who need to flee from a deserted island after all the food and fresh water has run out. There is nothing fun about it. See if you can trade it for a kayak. Or a warm beer.

I may even have some 80's-vintage windsurfing magazines and possibly an old Mistral brochure in my attic. If I can find them, I will send them to you, as I would be much happier if they were no longer in my house.

I've never tried it.    but, it looks fun and there are countless lakes around my place.

Summer option for snowboarding?   

It does look like fun, but it is not fun.

Grtechguy said:

I've never tried it.    but, it looks fun and there are countless lakes around my place.

 

Summer option for snowboarding?   

Drive north until you can snowboard.

I do hope that I haven't ruined your weekend though.

Not at all.       It's mostly in the house to occupy 3 kids, ages 13-14

To temper Woody's hatred, I'll tell you I had one when I was a teenager. I thought it was great fun, I also love water sports of all kinds. No idea where to score a cheap base, maybe EBAY?

A piece of pipe with u joints? or an axle with a small cv joint that is cut down to size?

I was into windsurfing in a big way in the 80's. I was even a certified instructor - which had some real side benefits, but that's for a different day.

It IS fun. Get a shortboard in a good breeze and there's enough power on tap that you can just lift yourself and the board out of the water at will and go faster than just about anything else powered by a sail. It's got a hard edge to it that's nothing like the puttering around you might have done at an all-inclusive resort, like the difference between a V8 Miata track car and the worn out Corolla you learned to drive on. And you need a harness to do it for any length of time. I built up enough upper body strength that people thought I was a wrestler.

But.

It has a really steep learning curve at first. Really steep.  In most sports, you can get to a "hey, I kinda see what this could feel like" point quickly. Snowboarding, for example, is really easy to pick up. With windsurfing, you need to learn how to get the sail out of the water, the wishbone into your hands and how to lean back against the power before you even get it to move. With a good instructor and just the right breeze, you can get it in an hour and you'll be tired at the end. With just your buddy yelling instructions from the dock, it's almost impossible.

Then there's the inherent frustration of any wind-powered sport. On a sailboat, you can sit when the wind dies. On a windsurfer, you float. On a shortboard windsurfer, you barely do that. It was the fickleness of the wind that pushed me towards mountain biking eventually. The sport died out in my area over the course of a year.

Back to the original question - the foot pin is probably going to be the Mistral-specific part. The u joint and the mast base are (were) pretty universal. From the looks of the picture, you might be able to make the foot pin out of Delrin if you have a lathe but I've never tried.