Dart 15 Forums

We have a sailor at gurnard who has a two piece mast with a snapped joining sleeve. He has tried everything to try and remove the broken bits from the two sections of mast but they appear to have been glued in and they will not budge.
He now believes that his only alternative is to buy a replacement mast. Do you have one that you can sell to him?
His name is Bob Donald and his phone number is 01983 613374.
Thanks
Carl

There must be a cheaper alternative to a new mast.

It might take a long time but has he tried drilling out the joining sleeve, with progressively larger cutters until he gets to the point where he can file or sand away the remaining sections of the sleeve?

Hi Charles,
It does seem a little strange but I believe that he has tried most things. He even took it to an engineering company but they had to give up. I think that the sleeve may be non standard; it’s been a while since I saw it but I think that it may have been fibre glass.
Carl

I was just reading this and couldn't help wondering if there might be a more radical solution using either direct heat or chemicals...
Had a similar problem on a smaller scale once and we just took a miniature gas-powered blowtorch to it and melted the bugger to destruction them sanded out the stringy remains.

It might be worth getting in touch with Brian Phipps &/or Steve Sawford to see if they've come across a solution for this.

On my 15 1910 it's an Ali sleeve and I always split it. On our other 15, 1054 it looks like a fibreglass sleeve and appears to be glued in we have tried with two or three people on each end to try to pull the two sections apart with no success.
SteveR

Hi

These have fibreglass Joiners and I have replaced 3 of them before.
They are b.....ds to do. I used a sharpened 500mm long big masonary bit to channel three groves and collapsed the sides in.
The Aluminium sleves are no longer available.
I am not sure if the new ones from windsport will fit the old masts .
I have one I could make a mould from if not.
I would be interested in buying the old mast if he wants a new one.
Give me a call.
Steve Sawford 01536 330477

Post removed by Andrew.

Steve Sawford wrote:Hi

These have fibreglass Joiners and I have replaced 3 of them before.
They are b.....ds to do. I used a sharpened 500mm long big masonary bit to channel three groves and collapsed the sides in.
The Aluminium sleves are no longer available.
I am not sure if the new ones from windsport will fit the old masts .
I have one I could make a mould from if not.
I would be interested in buying the old mast if he wants a new one.
Give me a call.
Steve Sawford 01536 330477

Steve,
As you are clearly game to recover this mast why don't you give them a quote to remove and fit a new joining piece. Then they have 2 options:
1) Pay you to repair it with a new joining piece.
2) Buy a new mast from Windsport (both 1 piece and 2 piece are £879.49).
Then if no one has a secondhand mast to sell they can move on.
Cheers
Bob

Hi,
The fiberglss insert can be removed but it does take some work and may not be a job the average sailor wants to take on. We have done a number at Windsport both Sprint 15 and Dart 18. A replacement insert can then be fitted, but you should pressure test the mast before use for any joint leaks. The new inserts are slightly longer so take care not to dislodge the original mast plugs.
Brian
Windsport

I replaced mine last year - it was also an old fibreglass one, and was glued in very well! It was an absolute pig to remove. It will not come out neatly - you will have to break it out bit by bit. I had to sand the new insert quite a bit for it to fit. Good luck!

Thanks for all of your advice.
I have just received a note from the boats owner. (It was actually his father as the owner is currently working abroad). He has sorted his mast problem but he didn't say what he did but I am sure that your suggestions inspired him to have another go.