Hey Guys,
Whats the best way to seperate bottom and top sections stuck together, besides using a grinder!!
Its a 30% carbon. Have tried putting silicone spray in there, but nothing yet.
Whats the best thing for it?
Cheers,
Matt
Get a mate and get him/her to hold one end whilst you hold the other end.
At the same time as each other shake the mast up and down whilst twisting in the opposite direction as your friend.
The mast should slowly come apart with the up and down motion in conjunction with the twisting and pulling motion.
Works every time ( famous last words ) !!!
Good luck.........
Classic topic this one. If you search the old threads under "stuck mast" you'll find everything you want to know and more.
However the most appealing new (to me) method of separating a stuck mast is to bend it (put one end on the fence and sit on it), and insert something thin and flat in the open part of the joint (under side of mast) - a knife blade or similar. Then let the mast straighten. Turn it round and do the same thing on the other side with something a bit thicker in the joint. That should do it. If not keep going.
Don't bend it too much by standing on it etc. If you do, you might hear the "time for a new mast" sound. Speaking from experience here.
Do a search, there are so many discussions about this... With LOADS of ideas raning from using man power to horse power, theres everything.
My personal way i have used to get apart a few masts (including a top and bottom which wernt even the same mast and had been jammed so hard by people who had had a few to many lol) is rubbing dishwashing detergent into the joint and leaving for a night or so... then put the skinny end in a vice (not to tight, don't break it) and get about 5 or 6 guys on the other end to just twist. I did it at school in the tech center so it was easy to find the vice and plenty of guys to help me.
Cheers
Bubs
the newest method is take it to the shops, get it caught between the escalator and the ceiling, the mast comes apart very quickly
I did one recently with olive oil in the join and left if on the lawn for an hour. mate in the tyre business suggested the lube for fitting tyres
I have got a few apart by leaving in the sun for about 15-20 min and then putting a boom each side of the join and using them to turn each half in opposite directions. Never failed me yet.
I have now started taping the join with some duct tape before I go out, takes only a minute and potentially saves so much hassle at the end of the day.
8 men (4 each side), twisting in opposite directions.
job done
10 men if not
12 etc
forgot that boom clamp thing
or alternatively, electrical tape twice around the joint before you go sailing and you'll never have the problem in the first place.
The 'NotWal' method above. Long slow proccess, but it works.
Although I wouldn't sit on it either, rather support each end and push doown on the joint - you'll be surprised (or not) how much it will flex, so don't be a pussy when pushing down.
Also occasionaly wash the joint out with water as your doing it to get rid of some of that sand you've been crushing.
Or you can become the proud new owner of a single mast - and sometimes thats it.
I've started tapping up the mast joint while rigging.
Tried every single method except the last one with no result. So as a last resort we trieed it and it worked a sinch, the mast just popped apart. Guarranteed to work.
With the car method how do you attach the ropes or chains to the mast? I can imagine the rope just slipping off.
Whats wrong with having a single piece mast? I survived years with them made of Fibreglass!!!
Who needs a 2 piece???
tried pouring boiling water over the outer mast section.. (the larger one- top section normally...)
will make it expand slightly... it seems you didnt clean your mast before you put it together... oh well...
There's a better solution to stuck masts (that uses a bit of science that goes back to the dam busters in WWII, trivia fans!). And best of all works when there's no 2 booms or sixteen blokes handy, and a little easier on your gear than a truck & towrope.
Buy a rubber mallet for a couple of bucks at Bunnings (a heavy block of wood will suffice in emergency - nothing hard though - rocks are not your friend) and keep it in your gear box.
Hold the tip of the mast tight in one hand, about 6" from the top. Brace your hand against something handy [hoho!] (a fence post or your thigh will do). Make sure the other end of the mast is free, and not going to smack anything. If you have a brave mate, he can hold it.
With your other hand, whack the tip of the mast with the mallet as square as you can (like hitting a nail). Hard as you can - get that frustration out - very theraputic after a ** day sailing (though remember to take out any turban tip first)! The shock will run down the mast until it hits the join, then will gradually jar the mast ferrule out of the socket. Can take time, and can be slow if you've really sanded up the b*stard. But will eventually begin to work. You'll slowly see a gap open between the sections. Keep it up until you have a cm or so, then try twisting. Keep whacking until you get her free.
Seems to work better on fat masts than skinnys, but does work for both.
Most masts I've had would need gravel to make them stick, as they're not a tight fit! I passed the above suggestions on to a mate who had a 2-now-1 piece, on the weekend...
(I've got a couple of 2-now-3 piece masts in the shed)
)
)
