Mast straightened

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Mast straightened

Postby persephone » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:27 pm

Ok, so I am very happy I was able to straighten my mast today.
When I bought the boat it came with a nice internal halyard, tapered mast. Only problem was it had a bit of a bend in it at the lower end (like a side-stay broke or came loose and the mast bent over at the deck edge and above. In total the bottom of the step was a few inches off center. Maybe a 5 degree bend.
I work in a small automotive shop and we have a hydraulic press. I was able to slide the mast in from one side to the other and by applying force in several locations along the bend many times I was able to remove the bend. Unfortunately there are some marks in the side where I was pressing. I used long wood blocks to distribute the force, but it still left some marks. The maximum amount of force I had to apply was one full ton! Usually it was much less though, between 500-1000 pounds.
Not easy, and not something anyone can do but it is possible.
Geoff Plante, former DS1 owner
1950(ish) vintage National One Design.
persephone
 
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