Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Ultimate Windsurfing Tool

Since purchasing my own windsurfing equipment last year, the largest bane to my windsurfing existence has been my mast. The mast comes in two halves; the top of one half slides into the bottom of the other half to make a really long pole. After a few hours of compression in the sail, bouncing on waves, and cooking in the sun, the two halves cement together almost inseparably. This causes a giant headache at packing time; disassembly will require tug-of-war with a friend.

Sand, salt, or dirt are the real problem. Little particles of whatnot in the joint act like glue holding the halves together.

Yesterday I unveiled my new secret weapon: a $2 bottle brush. I vigorously scrubbed both sides of the connection before assembling the mast. As always, I used a bit of electrical tape to seal the joint. Then I surfed in Lake Travis for three hours.

When I returned to shore to pack, I felt the usual dread. Would the mast come apart this time? I removed my fin, twisted the boom off, released the downhaul, and pulled the mast from the sail.

My apprehension increased as I peeled the black tape from the mast. I grasped each half of the mast in one hand and pulled. To my surprise, the two halves slid apart easier than uncapping a pen. Victory!

I love my bottle brush.

1 comment:

PeconicPuffin said...

Bottle brushes rule (and they're cheap!) Check out this little number.