Sport Today

Friend of mine has a 2 piece mast which both pieces got stuck together after
rigging on the beach. We tried tying one end to a post and both of us pulling
all our might on the other end but the thing wouldn't budge. He also tried
using penetrating oil, again, no success. Now I'm hopping someone in the
group may have a suggestion.

Richard

if these fail, try a car jack. seriously, when i spent 3 months in maui
about seven years ago, i didn't separate my mast the whole time i was
there. needless to say it was really stuck.  when i needed to get it
apart, i tied one end of the mast to a tree, and set the car jack horizontally
against a curb. i tied the moving end of the car jack to the mast and
cranked.  that sucker built up some serious tension. when the mast let
go, it shot about 20 feet.
anyhow, good luck!
rob

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Cris Hannu                       |  Windsurfing the high country.


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You're mast tapers from the LARGE end to the small end.
Secure a rope from a post to the large end to a post.
Because of the taper, the rope shouldn't be able to slide
off the mast.  It is a good idea to use a lot of coils
around the mast.

Now the hard part.

tie one end of a long sturdy rope to your bumper or trailor hitch.
The other end is going to have to attach to the top of the mast but will
be pulled in the direction of lessening diameter (bummer).  What you do
is create a strap wrench in a sense.  You wrap the rope around the mast
a number of times ans then feed the remaining rope off at something
like a 90 degree angle. Your friend holds this TIGHT and pulls while
you drive the car. You'll have to experiment with optimal rope wrapping
techniques and where to orient the end of the rope that your friend
holds.  Damn, if I were a poet and not an enginerd, I could probably
describe this better.  One thing about the coiling on the small end,
The rope your friend holds should be fed between the mast and the rope
heading off to the trailor hitch after all of the coiling is done.

GOOD LUCK

The mast I freed up couldn't be separated by 6 people pulling on the
ends.

Andy

Bob Poortinga  (6'0", 180 lbs)      It's a hard wind that's gonna blow...

Here's how I unstick a 2pc mast without using an automobile, post, jackhammer,
hair dryer, car jack, or a bunch of strong friends:

I basically make a pair of strap wrenches (see below), and attach one to each
piece of mast, as close to the joint as possible, but not over the ferrule.
I twist them in opposite directions, and once I twist hard enough, the joint
unsticks and rotates.  Once I break the stick by twisting, it is usually easy
to pull the pieces apart while continuing to twist.

A strap wrench allows you to grip the mast very tightly without damaging it,
as you would if you used a big set of vise-grips.  They are sold commercially,
some oil-filter wrenches are strap wrenches, but they can be easily put together
using windsurfing equipment.

Take a board tie-down strap and tightly wrap it around the mast (at least ~5
times) - important things are that it's tight, and previous layers are
underneath later layers - this way, as you pull on the strap, it not only tries
to twist the mast, but also tries to tighten the grip on the mast.  To get extra
leverage, wrap the free end around a mast extension, boom extension, second
mast, etc.  If the mast/strap interface is too slick, it will still slip, so I
use an extra trick to prevent this:  I wrap the closed cell neoprene sleeves I
cut off my wetsuit around the mast before I wrap the strap on.

When attaching the second strap wrench, make sure it tightens when twisted in
the opposite direction.

This has worked at least half a dozen times with masts way too stuck for even
four people to untwist.  It is easier with two people, but I've done it
single-handed.  

This technique has not failed me yet, but if it ever does, I'd rather call
it a one-piece mast than try something that might damage the mast or myself.

Ed Wilson
Mistral Energy, Hi-Tech 8'6", and WindWings

P.S.  A while ago, I had posted, asking for help regarding breaking downhauls
and mast extensions.  Following the net's advice, I got a solid-looking Chinook
extension, and a Chinook grommet pulley that have been holding up very well.  
I highly recommend the Chinook pulleys - they don't cost you any "gap" and make
it easier to downhaul your sails (easier => less stress on equipment => less
breakage).  In fact, I haven't broken anything since I got it.

If the female jointed end of the stuck mast is metal, the same trick might
work.  If it is non-metalic, I am not sure that you can get one piece
heated quickly enough to expand before the other does too...especially
since you are probably not willing (as I was) to damage the piece that you
are heating.

Richard Engelbrecht-Wiggans          Those who can, teach;
                                     those who can't, don't;

Put a clamp-on boom on one part of the mast and another on the other.
The leverage which you get at the end of the booms will allow you to
twist open even the tightest stuck masts.  And, you don't even need
tools - everyone has a clamp-on boom these days.

-Payman

The trick is to secure the boom clamps as tight as possible without
damaging the mast.  Also try not to leave the sail in the water especially
when the water is sooty - I think this has been the culprit for me every
time I've had the problem.

Anyways - good luck!  It shouldn't be to hard to fix.

-Bill

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| * * * * * |            Bill Monhemius           |
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|                        University of Toronto    |
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|                        Turing Language Group    |
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The cup on one of my mastbases needed replacing so I went to a shop and
purchased a new one.  I found out that it was too small for my 5 extensions.
I went back to the shop and asked what was going on.  That was when I found
out about the change.

This will only effect you if you have several bases and extensions and plan
to exchange them.  My wife and I both sail and we exchange sails almost
every day we sail.  She uses 1/2 meter smaller sail than I do and rerigging
the extension so we can swap would be a BIG pain.

Chinook is built in the Gorge and they generally make good gear but I am not
going to buy a mast base that cannot interchange with last years gear.

--
Tim Costello
Du Pont Merck Pharmaceutical

Since the cup diameter reduced, and reduced very slightly, a new base should
still fit older extensions with no problem.

Has anyone else had problems with an old base and new extension?

Stanford Aerospace Robotics Lab
Mistral Energy, Hi-Tech 8'6", Windwings, and Chinook!

P.S.  Speaking of slight incompatibilities, I think the Powerex masts have just
a slightly smaller base inner diameter than everyone else.  I had to grind down
the hard plastic shims on the Chinook base to make them fit (actually they did
it for me at the shop when I bought it - glad I brought my mast with me).

My sailing partner and I both have the same problem.  My 91 extension
deforms when a sail is rigged and my 92 extension doesn't.  My partner
just had the plastic portion at the base of his extension replaced by
Chinook for something like $20 - $30.  It doesn't deform anymore.
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