My Sunfish mast is bent slightly. The bend is at the point where the mast just exits the mast socket. Not sure if I got a bent mast with this 1973 SF this spring or if the mast got bent during a pretty windy regatta a few weeks ago.
Can a slightly bent mast be made straight again? I was daydreaming and trying to convice myself that If a conduit or pipe can be bent with a conduit or pipe bender, can the bender be used to straighten out a slight bend?
Does the bending and straightening cause some lose of strength to the mast?
I picked up a new mast Sunday but I am hoping to straighten out the bent mast and then add an aluminum reenforcement sleeve for extra strength and keep the mast as a spare or for my 2nd sunfish. (Assuming that there isn't a reenforcement in the mast already. I don't yet know the age of the mast. The Fish is a 1973 but I don't know if the mast is original.)
Can a slightly bent mast be made straight again? I was daydreaming and trying to convice myself that If a conduit or pipe can be bent with a conduit or pipe bender, can the bender be used to straighten out a slight bend?
Does the bending and straightening cause some lose of strength to the mast?
I picked up a new mast Sunday but I am hoping to straighten out the bent mast and then add an aluminum reenforcement sleeve for extra strength and keep the mast as a spare or for my 2nd sunfish. (Assuming that there isn't a reenforcement in the mast already. I don't yet know the age of the mast. The Fish is a 1973 but I don't know if the mast is original.)