Hey all,
I was out windsurfing over the holidays after new year pretty much everyday and one day i put my mast together i found that it was a little harder than normal to slot together but i thought nothing of it and carried on. After i came back at the end of my session i packed up as normal but found that the mast wouldn't come apart and now it is stuck together. Any suggestions? iv tried wd40 but that didn't seem to do much.
Regards,
Andrew
Wet the joint with water.
Support both ends
And bounce on the mast like you've never bounce before.
10-15mins of good aerobic workout later you will notice a wee gap starting to form, keep going,
a bit later try to move the masts,
still not moving? repeat the above.
Good reminder to clean the joint before assembly
Thanks ill give that a go, yeah it was because i was going out so often i was like eh "she'll be right attitude" apparently wasn't the way to go about it.
cheers
Someone posted the following solution to this problem previously.
Connect two booms to the mast about 2' either side of the joint and with someone helping twist the the two halves apart. Never had the problem so far but this remedy sounds good.
Standardly stuck:
Get three guys per side, twist in opposite directions and bingo.
Really stuck:
Support on both ends, bounce on it, turn 90 degrees, bounce, try to twist it apart.
Utterly stuck:
Make up an adapter to force mains pressure water down the top of the mast (remove the top bung first). Shake the mast while drinking beer. It normally takes two or three beers before the mast separates.
1 piece mast:
Tie one end to a solid tree using a "prusik hitch" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik_knot), tie the other end to your car's towball. Rev and go!
Next time you rig up:
Wrap the joint with electrical tape, this stops sand getting into the gap that a bent mast has between the ferrule and mast at the front of the mast.
You can try attaching 2 booms firmly each side of the join and twisting in opposite directions - you need 2 people for this and a real good grip with the booms which is often difficult to achieve with the upper skinnier section. If you can get them to grip then the booms give you good twisting leverage and often getting a rotation is the key to getting them apart.
Failing that I once (with the help of a mate who refused to give up) seperated a super stuck mast using some prussick knots (these are easily releasable non-slip mountaineering knots - try Wikipedia) tied each end of the mast and with one end to a solid object like your house for instance...and the other to something moveable like the tow bar etc. of a car...are you getting my drift yet?.....see you can drive off.....gently....with the car. Actually I don't think we had to get that radical but used a hydaulic jack with the rope doubled back so it was pulling....to ease them apart. Once we had it all figured it worked a treat and I'm still using the mast (carbon composite) some years later.....so no harm done.
Cheers and good luck.
this should be a sticky topic.
you can fit up to 10 men on a mast.
get them to twist.
offer cash prizes to the winning team. or beer! 
I think there has been a couple topics about this befo0re so look back and youll find plenty of answers.
As for me i have had a couple masts stuck together and the way i got them a part was:
1. Rubbed dishwashing detergant into split and rotate around a bit for a day or so.
2. Took it to school and went to the tech center where we put the skinny half in a wood vice. Not to hard otherwise you would damage it but also wrapped cloth around it to stop any cracking.
3. Rounded up about 10 blokes and just got them to grab onto the thick end and twist as hard as they could while as the split came apart i helpped it with a flat head screw driver.
When i got home i always cleaned them and gave them a light sand with wet and dry sand paper. Works a treat.
Bubs
i remember someone posting this about 3 years ago.
- tie fat and of mast to something like tree near a cliff
- tie thin end to rear end of xd falcon
- get mother-in-law to drive xd falcon off cliff
- rope should slip off thin end and leave mast in tact hanging from tree
- follow elmos instructions
everyone wins 
Naw, the best technique only requires one person, a piece of wood and a hammer and has separated every mast I've ever had stuck, courtesy of Reg from Windsurfing Perth:
- Put your mast extension into the bottom of the mast
- lay mast on grass or carpet
- Place a piece of wood against the base of the mast extension
- Put a bit of pressure on one foot resting on the mast near the mast extension end
- then smack the end of the mast extension with a hammer or mallet (shielded with the piece of wood)
- You'll find a gap magically appears between the top and bottom mast halves.
- If need be, smack the end of the mast again a few times with varying amounts of force to spread the pieces apart enough to separate them with your hands.
It may sound like it defies the laws of physics, but it makes sense when you think about it. Smacking the end of the mast while restraining the bottom half with your foot results in a very sudden longitudinal force causing the top half to continue its motion due to inertia overcoming the sticky join.
I have been gob-smacked how Reg has been able to get every stuck 2-piece mast unstuck using this technique when my similar attempts have failed. He also has a nylon mast plug that he uses as a substitute for a mast extension and piece of wood for the really tough cases (if I remember correctly).
-Mart
i always tied the thicker bottom part to a tree trunk and and with a forcefull snappy pull always gets the job done just make sure it doesn't bounce of a rock or hard surface
two boom route i never thought of that if was alone with a friend...hmmm will try that in case
CJW said...
Mrrt's idea sounds good!
'Ere's another one I learned from a French guy named Julien:
Get somebody to hold the base. Hold the tip and wiggle wiggle wiggle. Fast vibrations; no need to flex the middle, this will loosen it.
Well got the mast apart now, the way i did it was to get two booms attach one to the top section and one to the bottom section about 2in from the join and then just move them in opposite directions till it started to move then wd40 and apart she came. Thanks for all the input, its been much appreciated
cheers
Andrew
That kind of came to my mind when I went back to find the advise again before posting. 
