I had a mast stuck for quite a few months - wouldn't budge (tried all the tricks). I finally got stuck into it with a rubber mallet and that did the trick. Separated no problem.

It snapped rigging a couple of sails later.

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulty, Jerzy. It must be driving you crazy. Hopefully you have been successful ,but if not, before you try anything too radical I have sent this thread to a friend of mine who is an industrial engineer and pretty sure has worked with material like this... can you post exactly what it is made of? He may be able to assist...?? I hope so.

Duct tape is your friend.
Get a 2 buck roll at the Reject shop and tape 6 inches around your mast join every time you rig.
Your problem wont happen again[}:)]

jermaldan said...

Pity they dont make an overhanging rubber flap on the connector of the mast that that could help prevent this:( Flip it up when separated and down when connected.

Find an old bike tube, cut about 3-4 inch section and fit that to top section of mast just above the joint, Join mast, role section down over joint. Job done.
When sailing is finished and you de-rig, role it up onto mast top, and pull mast apart.

^^ he got the idea from his reuseable condom patent

never caught on....

If you cant get a mast apart using booms then you have rubbish booms. If you have no booms then you could just fabricate some oversized strap wrenches (would be best to have a few to spread the load)..

'Give me a lever long enough, a fulcrum strong enough and I'll move the world'..

Or just wobble it, as has already been mentioned....

If neither of these work then something is wrong, not the mast or separation technique.

And I don't see how taping the join stops sand, it gets in when people use the mast to dig holes in the dirt while rigging.. Or maybe up the extension when wallowing in the shore dump..

If there is sand getting in through the actual join then I'm a Monkeys Uncle.

I think the sand gets in whilst rigging as the ferrule come apart a little a couple of times whilst sleeving, and sand from the luff tube gets in.

Many people report stuck masts on and off, then they tape the join and never have it happen again so there must be something to it?

Mark _australia said...

I think the sand gets in whilst rigging as the ferrule come apart a little a couple of times whilst sleeving, and sand from the luff tube gets in.

Many people report stuck masts on and off, then they tape the join and never have it happen again so there must be something to it?

Totally agree M_a. The added benefit to taping your mast is that when you rig your sail, the taping reduces the likelihood of the two sections separating, and therefore, voiding warranty if the mast breaks!

barn said...

Many people get their masts stuck in spots with sandy rigging areas.. Grassy rigging areas, hardly ever.. There must be something in that!..

I always take note when somebody gets a nice big scoop of earth up the mast while rigging, completely oblivious..

In other words..

Only noobs get stuck masts..

The Pits a great test spot for your theory Barn,care to put up or shut up
No tape = stuck mast, why do all us regulars tape???? and get to put two piece mast away in the cars. Must be cos we have shares in Mitre 10

Sorry to disappoint you guys but I have had masts stuck even when I taped them.
And I am really anal about keeping sand out of my masts!

It does help though. I think it stops water getting in. If there is a bit of sand in the top of the mast, all it takes is a small amount of water to wash that sand into the join. Then you are stuck!

If water can seep into the top of the mast from any source the damage is done!

jermaldan said...

still effin' stuck:(

Have you done the expansion thing (outer section in sun and inside section iced)?
...With booms attached obviously

Is it possible for the mast conection to fit to neatly. Most of my masts have a little movement in them when you first start sliding them together and seem to get really snug in the last cm of the joint. My newest skinny mast however is a "perfect" fit and like a high maintenance super model this is causing me lots of problems. Mostly that I fell like a noob transporting my $599 mast on my ute with most of the mast waving around above the cab.

[insert gratuitous photo of skinny model]

cammd said...

I wouldnt mind betting even if you do get it apart no matter what you do to keep sand and water out it will get stuck again. You will end up hating the mast and possibly the brand forever everyone you meet you will tell them your story and warn them off buying that brand so not only will the manufacturer lose your business but probably others as well. I think its fair to give the manufacturer the opportunity to rectify the problem that way its win win you get a product your happy with and the manufacturer keeps your business and others as well.

Really the only measure of a skinny mast for me is does it stand up to the punishment of the surf.

With the use of three booms I have move mine about 15mm but I need more time to get it apart. It is a slow process.

cammd said...

I wouldnt mind betting even if you do get it apart no matter what you do to keep sand and water out it will get stuck again. You will end up hating the mast and possibly the brand forever everyone you meet you will tell them your story and warn them off buying that brand so not only will the manufacturer lose your business but probably others as well. I think its fair to give the manufacturer the opportunity to rectify the problem that way its win win you get a product your happy with and the manufacturer keeps your business and others as well.

I had a mast extension which got stuck in my mast every time I used it. I always needed to get help to separate them. It wasn't sand, just a really tight fit. Annoying.
New extension, no problems. Now I can derig on my own.

JV said...

cammd said...

I wouldnt mind betting even if you do get it apart no matter what you do to keep sand and water out it will get stuck again.

Wouldn't you just sand the ferrule down a bit to give a bit more tolerance?

No, because

(1) they are fitted at the factory to be the right clearance. Mine have the same serial number on top and bottom sections (inference is it is a matching pair) and you can see on one where they shaved a bit off the bottom section to make it move "up" a bit for tighter fit.
(2) it will continue to wear and then will be too loose prematurely. That grey mud in the joint after a sail is carbon and water slurry. My 430 is way looser then my 400 as it is used more. They do wear