I have had a bizzare accident with my Blade and need the collective advice of the group.
On a recent Saturday outing to the Long Beach, CA beach cat launching area named Claremont, There was one cat set up on the beach, mine, and about 50 kite boarders. I was debating whether to risk singlehanding my boat in the brisk winds and as I watched in horror, an out-of-control kite sailor came up the beach and in passing my sailess but rigged Blade, caught the tip of the mast with his kite line, and casized the boat on the beach. There was nothing to slow the mast down except the sand.
At first we didn't notice any damage so just put the boat away.
This last weekend I verified that the mast is bent slightly to starboard just at or below the diamonds and also has a several degree twist to starboard at the tip.
Questions for the group are:
Anbody been successful taking this kind of bend and twist out of a mast? I'll try to get pictures of the condition later.
Did you do it with the diamonds on or off?
I'm contemplating a couple of levers with attached clamps shaped to fit the contour of the mast section. One guy pulls the other holds steady to remove the twist.
For the bend, just apply adequate pressure in opposition to the bend and...
So what do you think?
John