Walker Bay 10 Mast Stuck - Help !

[Manderley13]

Have a brand new WB performance sailing kit which was put together in June. As the sectional aluminium mast was quite tight it was decided to use Fairy Liquid to lubricate. I'm now not convinced that this was such a good idea , as with the sails not having been used, I recently discovered that the liquid has solidified and it just seems 'stuck'. Please can anyone suggest what needs doing to loosen?

[ShaunJ]

Try some liquid wrench, it seems to work on most anything. PB blaster also works. Is the sleeve also aluminum?
Welcome aboard Manderly

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by Manderley13

Have a brand new WB performance sailing kit which was put together in June. As the sectional aluminium mast was quite tight it was decided to use Fairy Liquid to lubricate. I'm now not convinced that this was such a good idea , as with the sails not having been used, I recently discovered that the liquid has solidified and it just seems 'stuck'. Please can anyone suggest what needs doing to loosen?

Fairy Liquid is a detergent and has obviously solidified. I would suggest pouring boiling water over the outer sheaf of the mast trying not to heat the inner portion. This may expand the outer sufficiently to "break" the solidification and allow you to twist the two parts and separate them. Use water as this will not do damage to the aluminium as would a flame and could help in liquefying the detergent.

And welcome to CF.

[Manderley13]

Can I get those products here in UK?
...and yes as far as I know the 3 mast sections are aluminium that just slide in to eachother and are locked by a couple of retractable buttons (which also seem to have got pushed back down into the mast and currently lost from view!).
Thanks for the speedy reply and welcome!

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum

[limejucer]

Old method of splitting mast sections is too.

Hold mast behind legs @ knee hight.
grasp firmly wrists besides knees.
use strenght in legs to push out hands.

dont hammer the joint too hard you will bend or damage the joint.

PS wellcome to CF

[Snore]

The sections on my Balogh sail rig used to get jammed also. Start by trying to just rotate the two sections. Do no pull them apart just get them to spin. Once you get rotation, then rotate and pull (keep in clean guys!).

With the Balogh rig I always inspected the ends and wiped them clean before assembly. Also if you leave it assembled for too long or salt crystals will form in the joints and cause it to be difficult to take apart.

Bill

[SkiprJohn]

I second the hot fresh water trip. It is a good solvent for detergent and salt crystals.
Good luck.
kind regards,

[cabo_sailor]

A trick I've used to free frozen nuts, distributor shafts, etc. is to apply some dry ice in a towel (don't hurt yourself) and leave it for a few moments. The differential contraction due to the extreme cold will often break the joint free.

Rich