TOTALLY STUCK BOOMS - HELP

[Jim Richardson]

I have two sets of booms that are in decent shape but are stuck and can't be adjusted.

I know it was dumb of me to put them away for the winter dirty and gritty.

They are really really stuck. I have tried lots of liquid wrench, lots of yanking and pulling and hammering.

Does any one have any tips on how to clamp / hold the booms while working / pulling on them. I am worried about breaking / crimping the tubing.

Is there any way to grab them tightly yet non destructively and hammering on them in a way that won't dent / break them?

Any other product that would help free them up. Is WD40 better? Anything else? What will break down aluminum oxide ( the aluminum rust that forms). Can heat be employed? Would it help or make it worse.

I am even willing to drill off the rivets and take the clew end off, but I still cant think of a way of getting purchase on the boom extension.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[The Gman]

Jim,

It's possible that your booms are bent. I put away my booms without any excessive cleaning etc. and they are usually fine the next time. If you took a spill and slightly bent one of the arms they become almost impossible to adjust. Ask Patches.

The Gman

[Russian Dood]

Whatever you do DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF OIL!

That make it even worse. Use lots of fresh water and brutal forse.
Hang the boom by front end some where high and use something relatively soft (piece of wood/plank) to hammer clu out. that works well on any old chinook.

And again, DO NOT USE OIL. One it's incide the boom it will mix up with sand and water and create a very nice goo that is impossible to get out without breaking the boom.

Good luck

[more force 4]

If the Broshevic method doesn't work, I'm pretty sure there was some threads regarding stuck booms (may have been 2-pc masts) on rec.windsurfing with some different methods. Follow the 'links' page here to the site, then do a search on 'stuck' with "only in this group" button.

Hey Russian Dood, does WD 40, liquid wrench etc have the same effect as oil in mucking things up? Graphite (lock release) would probably be good lubricant, no residue.

[Russian Dood]

In my days with Locarno sailing club I fixed whole bunch of booms. And I found that whatever you do with the boom do not use anything but water. Unless you have a PhD in Chemestry, and you are absolutely sure that aluminum oxide/salt water, sand, organics wouldn't create this wonderful goo I was talking about. Because once it's there the only way to get rid of it - get rid of the boom itself

[Guest]

Russian guy - did you ever try the products that remove aluminum oxide? These were mentioned on the rec.dot site 10 years ago by the more sane sounding people (along with a bunch of techniques that sounded like they would result in your glue, or major metal damage!!). Apparently aluminum expands when 'rusting', which causes the binding. Sounds like a great idea to dissassemble and clean if your not going to use a pair of booms for awhile.

[Russian Dood]

You asking me if I have tried those wonderful products from ten years ago, from sane sounding people, may I ask you what products were that? Did you mean Pepsi or Coke? and have you tried them yourself? And the next question would be have you tried to clean up the boom from inside? Especially after "smart sounding ....." pored whole whack of motor oil in to the tubing, sailed that boom for a couple of weeks, and then stashed it in a back of the 40 ft container for the rest of the season?

I don't pretend to know everything, I'm speaking from the experience. I'm giving the advise, I was given once myself and that worked.

And BTW if you point to something, it would be great to have some references, you know some links, URL's, stuff like that. If you do not know how to insert a link in the post, that's OK, just cut and paste. I will handle it no problem

Take care my
more_sane_sounding_anonymous_friend

[KUS]

Don't whatever you do kink the tubing........as with masts I am sure you tried tension while tapping with a rubber mallet?? Good tension and perhaps also your last resort for real force is rigging the clamp and the clew with large diameter rope to spread the load to a building/steel post (careful here..) , then pull on it while (someone depresses the pins) with a verrrry gently rolling car or equally huge moving object. Try just rolling the vehicle gently downhill to tension (with a second person) or a come-along and tapping the heck out of the overlap area of the boom. If all else fails, it's toast anyway so give it a good yank with the car as a last resort.

Chances are it's a friggin' neil pryde product, am I right??? never had a problem either until I bought this wonderful new boom from them, no warranty either, nobody returning calls; NP C-R-A-P; GO CARBON

[Russian Dood]

Hey KUS,

You are right as usual. I completely forgot, to mention, don't kink the tubing. Jerking boom arms a little bit (not to much) while puling and tuping helps. And another thing, when you get one of the extension arms out of the tubing do not use it as a leverege to twist the other one out - you'll bend or break it. Instead use two pipe wrenches, with a good insulator between the tools and tubings (rubber pad, old news paper) and twist boom arm and the stuck extension arm in opposite direction.

As about the vehicle , well... that's kinda extreme, I think, anyway if nothing else works, why not give it a try.

[Unusually Large Robin]

I concur with the "rubber mallet" theory, this is what I've employed with success before, both on my stuck booms and children that won't go to sleep!

[local Naish guy]

Hello Guy with booms stuck,You will have to take the rear end fitting off the boom end so that you can place small board flat over the tubing.If the pieces extend and lock with buttons,push the buttens inside the tubing out of the holes.So that there is nothing holding the pieces togeather other than the corrosion.The corrosion does cause expansion,and may be permant.No Lubrucation other than fresh water.So, while holding the boom arms with your one hand ,front end braced against the floor ,gently tape the piece of wood with a hammer so that the force pushes the tubing inwards,as soon as the tubing starts to move try to turn as you tap,this method has worked for me .If you damage the ends,it is okay you can trim off some when you put the boom fitting back on.If you kink the tubing it is all over.Good luck.

[more force 4]

this was the link for the aluminum oxide disolving stuff (record length!); it is a reply to a suggestion about Coke (which sounds tailor made to make glue):

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&l ... 26rnum%3D7


The Ph of Coke is radically different than the corrosion that has the
extension stuck. The Coke dissolves the corrosion deposits.
Whenever aluminum corrodes, the corrosion "expands" and in this case,
traps the extension tube.

Almost any acid made for cleaning aluminum will do the same job.

The aircraft company, Boeing, has developed a great product for protecting
aluminum. It is called BOESHIELD T9. This product is avaliable at boat
supply stores. It is absolutely superior to silicon, WD40 or any other
previous lubricant.


*******
Sounds like the aluminum stuff is a preventative.
another guy on the thread said a rubber mallet was his most cost-effective windsurfing purchase, which sounds better.

And I see from the rec. site in answer to Jim's question there, that "pepi" from sailworks.com is recommending soaking in oil!! Go figure.

[mshepard]

I solved the problem by convincing him to become a kiter, not requring his booms anymore.

[KUS]

yeah, I know the stuff.....talk about carcinogen though.....maybe a new boom is in order, ha.