Parts of a Windsurf Board – Labeled Board and Rig

All 21 parts on the diagram

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Board and rig 11

Sail The wind in it drives the board. The sailor holds it up and steers by leaning it forward or back.
Mast It slides up inside the luff sleeve of the sail. Only its top and a short part at the boom show.
Boom It is called a wishbone boom. Its front end clamps onto the mast and its back end is tied to the clew.
Fin As the board gains speed the fin gives more lift. The board starts to plane, skimming over the water.
Daggerboard It sits in a well through the board. It can be pulled up. Longboards and many beginner boards have one.
Battens They slide into pockets in the sail. They keep it rigid and steady in stronger wind.
Luff sleeve (mast sleeve) The mast slides up inside it. It is also called the mast sleeve.
Boom clamp It clamps the boom onto the mast. It sits at the cut-out in the luff sleeve.
Clew The outermost corner of the sail. It has a ring in it for the outhaul.
Outhaul It tensions the sail at the clew. With the downhaul it is one of the two lines that tension the sail.
Uphaul Pulled to lift the sail out of the water. The sailor stands on the board and pulls on it.

Deck and mast foot 10

Nose It turns up a little; the upturn is called the scoop.
Tail The fin is underneath it. The footstraps are just in front of it.
Deck The mast track and the footstraps are fixed in it.
Rails On many boards they are thinner toward the tail.
Footstraps At speed the sailor's feet go in them for control. The sailor moves back first.
Mast track The mast foot locks into it. On many boards it can be slid forward or back along it.
Mast extension It slides into the mast. It is set longer or shorter to suit the length of the luff sleeve.
Downhaul It is threaded through pulleys and pulled very tight. It gives the sail most of its shape.
Universal joint It lets the rig lean and turn in any direction. Most are a flexible rubber piece; some are mechanical.
Mast base (mast foot) It locks into the mast track. It is also called the mast foot.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only when two of these use it for the part. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Windsurfing (mast, boom, fin, universal joint, daggerboard, footstraps, battens, clew, downhaul, outhaul, uphaul, mast foot, rails). (2) A board maker's user guide for its boards and rigs, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6342971 (footstraps, fins, mast foot, mast track, daggerboard, mast, luff or mast sleeve, extension, mastbase, boom, battens, clew, outhaul, downhaul, nose, deck side). (3) Windsurfing Magazine, issues of June 1991, May 1993 and June 2003, full text at https://archive.org/details/ws916, https://archive.org/details/ws935 and https://archive.org/details/windsurfing-magazine-2003-june (nose, tail, deck, rails, footstraps, mast track, daggerboard, fin, mast base, extension, boom, battens, luff sleeve, clew, outhaul, downhaul, uphaul). (4) Passages returned by the Internet Archive's full-text search from lending-library books, for the boom clamp, the luff sleeve and the board's nose and tail: Hart, Windsurfing in a Week (1991); Windsurfing: Technique, Tactics, Training (Crowood, 1991); Bornhoft, Windsurfing (2001); Boden, The Windsurfing Funboard Handbook (1984); Oakley, Windsurfing: The Skills of the Game (1994). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry, a composite of no one make; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A windsurfer is a board and a rig joined by a universal joint: the sailor stands on the board and holds the sail by its boom. These drawings name 21 parts of the board and the rig.

Read the full guide

Board and rig from the side

The first drawing is the whole windsurfer, nose to the right. The mast slides up inside the luff sleeve of the sail, battens stiffen the sail, and the boom clamps onto the mast and runs back to the clew. Under the board are the fin at the tail and the daggerboard in the middle.

The deck, and the foot of the mast

The second drawing shows the board from above, with the footstraps near the tail and the mast track in front of them. Below it the foot of the rig is enlarged: the mast extension, the downhaul, the flexible universal joint and the mast base that locks into the track.

The sail is tensioned at two corners: by the downhaul at the foot of the mast and by the outhaul at the clew.
The uphaul is the rope for pulling the sail up out of the water.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a windsurf board called?

The board has a nose, a tail, a deck and rails, with footstraps, a mast track, a daggerboard and a fin. The rig is the mast, the sail and the boom, joined to the board by a universal joint.

What joins the sail to the board on a windsurfer?

A universal joint at the foot of the mast. It lets the rig lean and turn in any direction, which is how a windsurfer is steered without a rudder. Most are a flexible joint; some are mechanical.

What is the difference between the daggerboard and the fin?

The fin is fixed under the tail. The daggerboard is a larger blade under the middle of the board that can be pulled up; longboards and many beginner boards have one.

What is the boom on a windsurfer?

The bar the sailor holds to control the sail, called a wishbone boom. Its front end clamps onto the mast, and its back end is tied to the clew of the sail by the outhaul.