CompTip Replacement - you can do it TOO

If I can do it.. you can too...
Now sit right back and you'll hear a tale....

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So there I was w/coolio, good to go master crew & fisherman Kelly....

... sailing (more like holding on for dear life...) at probably 18kts... close hauled, a mile from the beach....
....it was the annual Slip to Ship... "Slick to Ship" this year... what with oil in the Gulf....

...in the midst of massive thunderstorms.... lightening everywhere, thunder you can feel, waves... and you can't see, and the rain stings...

...but it's only a mile to the beach... even less to the finsish....
...everyone else he bearing off, heading downwind, abandoning the race, taking the best route to the beach....
... damn the torpedos... we're going to FINISH THIS RACE!!! ( from Ship Island to Ocean Springs )

and a gust comes... and doesn't let up.. and keeps coming...and doesn't let up....
...sheet out, travel out, hike out far, head up.. no matter....
...one of those severe thunderstorm gusts... with winds to 60mph....
...over we go... in 6 or 7 feet of water...

the top 8 feet, the fiberglass part.... of the mast...cracks, breaks... separates... at the base....

it was Gallant! So near.... ah, the pain.

Get the boat up.... crew goes Man OverBoard.... manage to recover and make it ashore....
( a major ordeal and a whole 'nother story in itself.... )

Later on... ????How to fix the top 8 feet, the composite tip... the CompTip... of the mast....???

Life goes on, you get busy.
2 months later, another storm is brewing...
Crank up the tunes; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k6EbLm4Q1s
Get some wine.

Boat in the side yard... lightening everywhere... is this the time to work on an aluminum rod 30 feet long?
Bring it on... gotta get her on the water again... Juanas is just a month away!
Anyway, get some wine, press on.

Drill out the rivets. Hot shards land on bare feet... ouch, better be more careful.
Drill and route out the filler foam.
Hammer and wedge long screwdrivers down the side of the fiberglass extrusion.
Chisel a slot.
Get the top 8 or 10 inches out of the aluminum mast....
What about the deeper part... need something longer.
Get the pipe from wife's truck she'd use for leverage if she had a flat tire....
Beat on the pipe down the tube.
Refill your cup'o'wine....
Need something long to act like a chisel..... oh yeah, got that machete from Panama.
Works like a charm.
How to grab that sucker now that it's loose.... ???
Hum... I have those mile long channel lock pliers...
Works like a charm, again.
This is going pretty easy.. but the storms are brewing... lightening building... thunder on top...the air grows cool.

Hum... I got some hickory... let's have steaks....
Fire... hickory... steaks from the freezer.... another cup'o'wine while they defrost under hot water in the sink.

Humph.... that Hobie18 will be beggin for mercy in no time.... Horn Island Express.
Man, that hickory smells good... better refill the cup'o'wine...
Glad I bought one of those 5 liter boxes...
Now... a new comptip??

Oh, gotta go. Fire's ready.

And that....That's how you remove a busted comptip from a mast of a Hobie Cat... without a torch...
....in case you were wondering!

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Cheers,
Rob.