I've managed to get a mast extension well and truly stuck in a mast and everything I've tried has come to nothing.

It's a Tushingham 400 RDM with a RADZ skinny mast extension. It got stuck after a sailing session in Skegness (very coarse sand) and I stupidly left it a few weeks before trying to remove it.

Tried the boom clamped to the mast and managed to twist the mast extension (extremely difficult) but could not manage to get them apart. Soaked the whole lot in WD40 and tried again but still no luck.

Tried lots of other stuff and have even gone as far as anchoring the mast extension to a fixed point, placing a brace round the mast extension collar and hammering the brace to shift the mast; all to no avail.

The mast has only been used a few times so if anybody has any ideas I would be most grateful.

The only thing i can suggest is to put a screw driver through the extension holes (if possible, unfornatnatley i dont know that extension) and use the screw driver as a handle and get someone to brace the mast.

Your not trying to pull the extension out but twist it inside the mast so it grinds the sand down which should allow you to pull the extension out. Good luck!

Yep - the boom on and screw driver through the extension technique (and a bunch of yer biggest mates) ususally works for me. If you don't have a hole going through the extension, get yerself a decent drill and make one - I've done it to both my extensions, and although I was initially concerned about making them weaker I've not had any problems, and they have had a lot of hammering over the years.

Tried that one already. It's stuck so fast that no one could hold the mast tight enough.

I ended up with a boom clamp fixed as tight as possible round the mast ferrule (for maximum torque) and a screw driver through the extension with the boom arm over the handle of the screw driver for maximum leverage. I fixed the boom clamp to a lampost and was only just able to turn the mast extension with the boomarm/screwdriver lever. It did work loose but only rotationally, it wouldn't budge any further out of the mast.

Just as an aside the mast is 100% carbon and the extension is alloy, does this cause some sort of dissimilar material corrosion when mixed with salt water and sand?

Lots of people on each section and twist. This is the best way to shift a stuck mast, problem with the extension there may not be enough room to hold on to it. Could try attaching the mast + extension to your board and then twisting the mast (again few people) but don't blame me if you break your UJ!

The other thing to try is flushing water down the end of the mast whilst gently tapping the mast extension with a hammer or using the screwdriver through the holes. I found that works may take some time but its worked in the end.

Alternatively you could run over it in the car and claim a new one on yer insurance, but that's a bit dodgy innit? Couldn't possibly recommend it....
In fact - would it be covered on yer insurance anyway, without actually having to take to it in your car?

How about someone else running over it? not your insurance then

Unfortunately I've just put in a claim for ditching my rig on Saturday after getting trashed in the waves at Bigbury. That was my other skinny mast so I'm back to using normal ones now.

Seems a waste of the mast when its in perfectly good condition apart from the now broken extension stuck fast in it. I'll try the flushing water Ian mentioned but I'm not sure if there's a bung in the mast.

I got my mast jammed together on christmas eve - sprayed wd40 into it and trickled some 3 in 1 around it, did the same next day, got 2 people to hold the skinny end and I held the widest bottom part for maximum grip and it came apart - still took a fair bit of effort but the WD40 had clearly penetrated all the way down. To he who waits....

Terrible session though - was out at Allonby and it was a nice strong consistent wind but as it was my first time out since about August and the sea temp took a bit of getting used to - all I managed to do was 2 planing runs and a whole bunch of effort spent waterstarting. A session like that is always worthwile though as it proves how often you need to go to maintain a standard, never mind improve!

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've tried them all to no avail. I even went as far as taking the bung out of the ferrule, sliding in some old boom extension poles (they just fit) then, winding in a black and decker work bench to support the bottom of the mast, I tried hammering the extension out. It's stuck that fast that the work bench split and the extension did not budge

So I've now come to accept that the mast is set for my 4.7. Struggled to get the boom ends out of the mast. Took it out for a tentative trial on Sunday (praying that all the hammering hasn't caused any point impact delamination) and it seems ok after loads of big jumps

Not tried this but maybe cool the mast extension (Ice, or plummers freezer in a spray can) and then poor hot/boiling water over the mast then give it loads of welly. Careful with the boiling water tho again not sure what effect that has on carbon!?

Might be worth a try

Keith

just found this message board whilst looking for some advice on how to get my radz extension out of my tushingham 370 rdm mast! pretty similar problem! dunno if there is some sort of carbon/alloy (or tushy/radz?!) corrosion thing going on, but i got it stuck once before and when i managed to get it out it the extension covered in black carbon residue.

brute force worked that time but this time nothing is gonna shift this puppy. problem is i have sold the sail i set it on and now it is pretty much useless to me.

oh well c'est la vie i guess.

I had this problem once with a C45. Carelessly I got sand in the extension top and forgot to clear it properly before assembly. I tried all the above WD40 soaking, push up and down etc. In the end I gave in and used brute force.

I clamped the mast-foot into a solid vice in my garage. Then I used a wrap of rags and a 2' monkey wrench (plumbers stilson- the type with deep pipe gripping serrations) around the mast. It turned and came off after a lot of sweat and effort. The trick was to turn and pull at the same time. I used the wrench on mast over the area where the foot was so as to avoid crush damage. It was risky and heavy handed but what else to do? It's fine now and no cracks either......

It was an adaptation of the old bike seat pin stuck in the seat tube of my race bike from years ago. Then I wrote off the seatpin and kept the frame!

one more tip , WD40 is useless at freeing salt corroded parts
but a better alternative is that and available cheap is vinegar .
trust me also works a treat on old coins , ha,ha,

oh dear Kelvin has just beaten me to the scieantific appraoch, now if you had asked neil!
yep a good soak in vinegar followed by cooling the whole lot outside when really cold the expanding the outer section with hot water or even hairdryer then a bit of brute force. unfortunately aluminiun corodes in salt water and forms a thick layer of oxide which will bond filling the tiny fractures in the carbon.
one thing is assured though; you are less likely to do it again!

but surely this corrosion can't occur in as short a time as one session on the water?

Quite often the problem is grit gets in the join, the downhaul locks everything together and you can't overcome the friction - thats what happened to mine, had to bring the mast back whole and pointing out of the window and I'm sure wd40 helped to penetrate past the grit and get everything nice and slidy

Dude,

Try some washing up liquid down the mast, then the twist 'n' pull, if it doesn't work, it'll smell nice!

If that doesn't work, I'm not sure how much of the collar goes into the mast, but if its only a cm you maybe able to just cut it off around the mast just above the collar. Then with the extention out just cut the stuck bit off the collar. Most masts don't change diameter over that much.

Don't blame me if it does though!



[Edited on 8-3-2005 by dunk]

IainO

How much of the extension is inside the mast?

Hans.

Hans,

It won't be the whole extension that's stuck, just the collar.

You need to cut around the mast carefully, not through the extension just above the collar. The whole thing should come out with the bit of mast still stuck on the collar. Then cut lenght ways on the bit of mast to remove it from the collar.

It does depend on how much of the collar goes into the mast, as if you have to take too much of to remove the extesion the collar may not fit back in the mast.

I've hacked the bottom off and made a 430 into a 400 in the past and its till worked ( not a skinny though)

Dunk

oooops sorry!

Radz skinny ex doesn't have a collar, this will work for extensions that do though

Dunk

Dunk,

I was just enquiring about how far the extension had gone in so I could propose a solution that we use in the shop... which you sort of allude to in your last post.

If there is not too much extension up the mast and you can get a long metal pole down the from the top of the bottom section of the mast then you can have a go at the following.....

Saw the end of the extension off where it comes out of the bottom of the mast. Then with just a 'new' hacksaw blade cut slots up the length of the extension and be careful that you only just break through the extension. Continue this procedure around the extension until you have got slots all the way around (or you are too pissed off to do anymore.... which ever is sooner ;-) ). This weakens the extension and makes it easier to shift. Then with the long metal pole down the mast hammer the pole or turn the mast upside down and ram the mast over the pole while the pole is on the floor. Be careful that the extension doesn't launch it's self like a rocket though.....

I have used this method on only a few of the most stubborn extensions and have had 100% success rate. It does however take a while to do so be patient, after all a new extension is cheaper than a new mast....

Hope this helps,

Hans.

Hans

Have bitten the bullet and tried your method (bearing mind I was using it as a not ideal mast for my 4.7). I sawed the end of the mast extension (but left enough extending with one hole for purchase) and have got a handy little handle that will hold a hacksaw blade from Homebase. Found that it's quite difficult to keep a straight cut without bending the blade and to keep an even depth in the cut.

I'm thinking along the lines of some sort of lever to force the extension out by locking against the old Radz collar (to protect the mast) and locating the other end through the remaining extension hole. Have tried to use a car jack but couldnt get enough rigidity in all the connecting joints.

Anybody got any ideas?

there is some advice and photos about halfway down here:

http://www.bluefinz.com/technique/masts/masts.asp />
but i guess you have tried this well known method??

Ste

that should have been:

http://www.bluefinz.com/technique/masts/masts.asp />

oh gawd - ok the link is as above but without the end " />"

http://www.bluefinz.com/technique/masts/masts.asp

Tried that one but it's way beyond that now, thanks anyway.

Hi all, I am a new member of forum

fiscalite assurance vie

[Edited on 10-6-2009 by sonbob115]

Just read the posts about stuck mast extensions cos I just got one. Best plan for me was to heat the metal extension (flame of any description) to just bearably hand hot, then with a sturdy bar in the extension holes tug the mast horizentally, with a pillar or wall corner restraining the bar. You can get a lot more force this way rather than using rotational, and you are moving in the right direction rather than just round and round. The heat helps agreat deal too.

Much better than hammering on something poked down the mast is to drop a heavy metal bar (several kg) into the mast. The with the mast held vertical shake it up and down such that you bounce the metal bar against the extension.
This is far far more effective than trying to transfer a hammer blow via a rod/tube.
Soap sounds like a good idea too.

Good luck
Dave