by Moose » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:57 am
Interim,
I would give it a go but be very careful until you are confident. Odds are you have been sailing with this bend for a while without noticing because most boats are tuned with aft mast bend/rake anyway.
The problem is not that you will make the metal weak, but that you will make it too hard!
I would suggest that you DO NOT try to straighten it. All of the masts that I've had have been something like 6061 T6 aluminum. This means that the material has been hardened, giving it a better yeild, shear, and tensile strength than plain 6061. This material is heated, quenched, and then annealed so that it is not brittle. If the mast is bent one way and than back the other you will begin to work harden the material. This will make that area of the mast brittle and more likely to break.
If someone were to fix this the best way to do it would be to bend the material back and then anneal it; or anneal it, bend it back, then re harden and anneal again. The second option is best, both would be expensive( if your local machine shop even has the facilities for this), and both would probably ruin the finish on your mast.
But do whatever you feel most comfortable with, this is my friendly opinion (not my professional advice).
Moose