Hi guys i need some tips. My 460 mast is stuck together. I have tried with 2 blokes on each half and it wont even twist let alone come apart. I think in my haste yeterday to get on the water some sand got in the join. what are my chances of getting it apart? Cheers Bender

Bender,
The most common remedy is to get two booms and clamp them onto the respective halves of the mast, so you can get some extra leverage when twisting.

Good Luck

Grab the base, and bang the top on grass or some smooth surface, the vibrations should unblock the joint in a way that is probably better for your mast than putting a big load on each side and twist (booms or clamps). Repeat that until u can pull it appart. Hope it works

many many many thanks guys. It sound. simple enough

Maybe its actually a one-piece mast and you don't realise.

Hack saw works a treat.

Spray some WD40 into the ferrule leave for a day or so and then use the two boom method as everyone has suggested, never fail solution good luck

Five guys on each end - twist,,,easy!! Heaps better than the old "boom on each end" method.

Put a rope aroun a tree and on one side of the mast, and tie the other end on your car. put firm tension on it and tap with a screwdriver end at the joint.
worked excellent on two masts.
use some bootys or neopren to pad the part where you tie the rope onto the mast.
good luck.

I can report that my mast is in two peices again.
The meathod used: attached booms each side of join and like magic the mast came apart with little fuss.
Thanks heaps for the tips, i hope i never to use them again.
Cheers Bender

Now that separation has been successful, can I suggest my technique for avoiding getting the two bits stuck in the first place. First, get the sticky outy bit- lets call that the male bit, and slide it gently into the bit with the hole- lets call that the female bit, then push the male bit in as hard as it will go, and here's the fun bit, stay with me, pull the male bit out a bit, and push it back in. Do that a few times until you get really excited (about going for a sail) and until the male bit slides really easily and smoothly in the female bit. Helps if you start with a clean male and female bit in the first place, because its sand and grit that can make the whole experience really unpleasant, but ramming the male bit into the female bit a few times,then withdrawing a bit and repeating that and even giving the two a bit of a twist when you withdraw the male bit gets rid of any sand and makes it really really satisfying. Then when you want to withdraw the male bit from the female bit at the end of your (sailing) session, you can easily retract it, and the female bit can't stop the male bit from going where you want it to go, which is back into its pouch thingy until the next time.

Don't stack in the shorey. It will stop sand getting in!

Yes, Pugwash. That certainly works too. But not everyone washes their male bits after they've had it in the female bit. And I'm not even going to contemplate whether the female bits get washed!