Just how "bent" is it? I've straightened spars using two trees. (Forked trees).It's been bent and I have bent it back into place several times. I took the sunfish out in high winds 22+ and the spar has bent right where i set the clove hitch. Anyhow, I can't find any sunfish retailers locally. It was going to cost $500 - $600 for shipping alone from some retailers. I was thinking of making one out of wood. I wanted to see what you guys have done.
-Tristan
That could have been my suggestion.But I would recommend using tubular aluminum for your insert, NOT a wooden dowel as some hand once mentioned, the aluminum will last way longer once it is glued in place (and possibly riveted as well). Don't bust out the pop rivet gun until you absolutely need it, the epoxy glue I used on my Laser mast was more than enough to hold everything in place, especially since the fitted "shims" or aluminum sheet sections made everything snug. Not heller tight, but SNUG... I had to gently tap everything into final position when I repaired my mast. Oh, yeah, I had a large piece of cardboard under my work area, just to avoid a gluey mess, lol.
CHECK THIS SITE FOR PREVIOUS THREADS ON REPAIRING BROKEN SPARS, I KNOW THIS TOPIC HAS BEEN DISCUSSED BEFORE...
P.S. Once you're done with the repair, a clean rag dampened with a little bit of acetone will serve to wipe the repaired spar clean of any residual glue...
Oh, yeah, if the bend is so slight that you can simply bend the spar back into place WITHOUT going to all this trouble, then THAT is what you do, lol...