Author Topic: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly  (Read 4196 times)

Crabbydude

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Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« on: June 04, 2016, 08:18:11 PM »
I just tried windsurfing for the first time today. We screwed the mast foot into the hole in the a Fanatic Fly board. We now can't get it back out. I think the female end in the board is spinning. I can't tighten it, or get it out, but it spins. Any idea how to get it out? I assume that I'll break the fiberglass if I just pull it straight out.

nalu-sup

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Re: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2016, 09:13:30 PM »
I am just guessing, but if the female insert in the board is spinning, then the connection to the fiberglass is already broken, so the board is not water tight anymore. This would require either pulling the insert and glassing in a replacement, or pulling it and glassing over the hole. If you do pull the insert out and think that you are going to be doing future windsurfing, I would recommend replacing the insert with a more standard mast track that will solve any future spinning problems. The Fanatic inserts are not a strong idea because of the potential spinning problem. If you do not want to go with a full mast track, which you really don't need, check out what Sunova puts in their SUP boards. It is a windsurfing mast track cut down to just a couple of inches in order to save weight and a large cut into the deck of the board, but it still has a solid system that is plenty strong and versatile for windsupping.
8'7" Sunova Flow 
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PonoBill

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Re: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2016, 10:08:49 PM »
I think Nalu is right, you can conside that toast. Get a hacksaw blade, wrap one end with a few turns of tape, slip the blade in the gap and start sawing. Be sure to bring a beer out to the garage, you're gonna be a while. I'd replace the nut with a good Chinook mast base. Plunge the router next to the screw, make a short slot, saw along side the nut on both sides to free the edges, then dremel cut the side opposite the slot free. Then install your mast base (or have somone do it.) A full mast base can douple as a handle. Just route a couple of finger holes in one end. the other end, and even between the finger holes will still be plenty strong. I have a mast base done like this that;s probably going on ten years in service.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

JimK

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Re: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2016, 08:28:59 AM »
Crabby,

I Half agree with Pono BUT you can get the UJ off by building up wedges under the plate washers until you "jam) the female part and stop it from spinning But I agree you are gonna have to get a deck box put in and you won't ever have that problem

Let me know If I can be of any further help
JimK
Extreme Windsurfing

Crabbydude

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Re: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2016, 12:43:51 PM »
Thanks guys.... I tried making a wedge but it just kept spinning. I really don't feel comfortable doing this myself. I'm in the Florida panhandle (Panama city)  .... Any recommendations where I could take it?

starman

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Re: Mast foot stuck in fanatic fly
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2016, 01:31:44 PM »
I kinda doubt you broke free the insert on your board and if you did it's more likely you used a base with the wrong threads. What mast base were you using? Did it thread in easy until the base came in contact with the deck and then get tight? Did you crank it down REALLY hard before it made contact with the deck? That or it was tight from the beginning and made a squeaking sound when tightening?

If the base screw matched the threads in the board and if the insert somehow broke free it would still unscrew with any kind pressure on the insert. So if it's just turning and not unthreading itself then I suspect you cross threaded the base screw in the insert. That will cause the base to freeze up in the insert and trying to turn the base will certainly make something give. Either the bolt breaks or the insert breaks free inside the board.

Did you borrow or buy a used base that's been sitting around for the last decade? You may have broken the mounting bolt inside the universal joint so spinning the base does nothing to spin the bolt from the insert.

I'd like to see a picture of the base stuck to the board. May be helpful in figuring out what's really wrong.

 


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