So I at least am interested to hear what you have tried apart from a few booms?

jermaldan said...

Mark _australia said...

So I at least am interested to hear what you have tried apart from a few booms?

- 2 - 7 men twisting and shaking - Lubricant and most of the above

sounds like something that happens in that other forum

Hmmm pull with the car being only remaining option according to the collective seabreeze wisdom. I can't wait to hear if somebody gets it apart, and how

last time half of you wise arses tried to help someone Duncan blew his brand new board up, interesting to see the end result here!

grumplestiltskin said...

I might have missed this in the thread, but now it's apart an inch have you tried pushing it back together?
If its sand this would help break up the grains.
I.e push it together then pull it apart,hopefully gaining some ground each time.

We got it apart an inch then back together. we did this 3 times but on the 3rd attempt we could no longer get it to an inch as it got hopelessly stuck at 1cm. we ended up whacking it back together.

No Dice.:(

Rolling on supported ends (as has been suggested many times) but with a pressure (water) or air compressor in the crack (underneath) maybe? Even better if another body or 2 were there pulling the mast apart gently whilst rotating)...might just free the grit...

And if it works, you can mail the slab to my address.

littlefeet said...

hey Jez... my engineer friend suggests...

"I think the problem might be that the poles have either expanded or contracted depending on the temperature. Resin has a habit of doing this. I suggest he heats up the male pole- this should shrink it a little. And cool down the female pole- this should open it up. I don't know how you do this alternate temperatures while the poles are joined??? "

I think a constant source of heat for a period of time and same with the cold.

Then I would try all those other methods again while the top is warmer and the bottom is cooler...maybe there could be a massive tug-o-war!!

I am crossing my fingers for you!

Funly enough we tried the exact opposite... Thought that heat expands.... and cold contracts. So we cooled the male end (hoping for shrinkage) and heated the female end (hoping for looseness). Tried lube and it made no difference.

Before your last post, I told my engineer friend you had tried boiling water...didn't tell him which end you boiled however....keep in mind he probably has little to no understanding of windsurfing and its accessories, His comments:

"Boiling water should do it if anything's going to happen. Sounds like it's pretty stuck. He might have to cut it off and figure out a way of joining them together. I would get a male and female aluminum piece made that screws together or something. Use vasoline on the threads and bond them into the carbon fibre using Redux glue (aircraft grade glue). Or if he searches the Internet he might find some carbon fibre braided tube that he can glue in on one side- but he might have the same complications as currently experienced. It's a bit hard without seeing it."

Surely that ^ would be the last resort. 12 years ago the only mast I ever had was a one piece. If you absoulutely couldn't get it apart, I would tie a red flag to either end and stick it on the roof racks...a nuisance yes, but it still does the job. think positive jez, it will work out.

Mark _australia said...

Yes, he has no idea about windsurfing masts then! There is no way you'd consider cutting it apart and making your own alloy ferrule!

I still cant believe that three booms per side (ie 6 people), with something to stop slipping between boom and mast like rubber sheet, plus heating the female half a bit, has not done it. Thus I am insanely curious

Perhaps jermaldan be having some shifty mates with access to 'adhesives'...me starting to think?

Mark _australia said...

Yes, he has no idea about windsurfing masts then! There is no way you'd consider cutting it apart and making your own alloy ferrule!

I still cant believe that three booms per side (ie 6 people), with something to stop slipping between boom and mast like rubber sheet, plus heating the female half a bit, has not done it. Thus I am insanely curious

Its was 2 on the bottom end and one on the smaller end.

Mark _australia said...

well you haven't really tried ?

When you said 3 booms I thought you meant per side, with 7 blokes but it appears the 7 blokes was only oing it by hand?

Yes the 7 blokes were doing it by hand.

BTW we also did the mallot method.

The top cap came off with all the whacking, I am now thinking of getting a 2.5 lenth of dow to put in the top part of the mast and use to whack the bottom part out.

jermaldan said...


I am now thinking of getting a 2.5 lenth of dow to put in the top part of the mast and use to whack the bottom part out.

Not as silly as it sounds...

I 'repaired' the bottom of a skinny mast last year where it snapped/shattered just above the extension using another broken mast as spare parts/ferrule. Because the new section was too wide for the extension, I 'packed' the inside of the mast with glass, leaving the extension (and some plastic wrapping) in to as an internal mould. The glass ran, extension stuck & the only way I could get it out was a long piece of dowel & a hammer, worked a treat.

The Zu just called me and said that they would replace the mast FOC. They said that its well and truely stuck forever. They will use mine as a demo mast.

I guess the slab goes to them, if not for separating the mast, then for customer service!!! Cheers

BTW appreciate all the input - Its incredible great a body of knowledge this place is.

Glad its sorted for you.

The hot and cold trick will not work! Heat will just conduct from the female to the male, especially as it is such a tight fit. The consequence then of pouring ice water into the ferrule could mean a deterioration of the fibres as some will be conducting heat - same reason you dont put cold water in a hot glass or vice versa. As parts contract or expand quickly (what is needed) it will cause damage.

I really like the penny idea and will try that myself!

get hold of a porno movie and sit the mast in front of the telly, with a bit of luck the female end might start getting juicy and it should slip right off only problem is the male part may harden right up before this happens

Try using the above methods with multiple booms etc with "real" penetrating oil as used in engineering not wd40 etc these formulas these are poor at loosening joints they are mixture of kerosene any other products and are basically a water displacement product, real penetrating oil has a much lower viscosity and has a much better chance of lubricating between the joint.