Hey all, I purchased a Hobie 17 mast to replace a broken one, and the person I purchased it from cut the comptip off completely flush with the aluminum extrusion. I've since found that it was also epoxyed quite well when it was last inserted. I've tried just about everything I can think of to remove it, starting with heating the mast with a torch to release the epoxy (that's what Matt Miller at Hobie suggested). I'm now at a point where I'm trying to chisel it out. Any suggestions?
If heat didn't work you might try cold. Might get it brittle enough to break loose. Maybe some dry ice?
A combination of the two?
Heat the mast and pour very cold water on the tip to get them to separate somewhere.
Turns out a combination of heat, chisels, and an auger bit (and about two hours total time spent) finally broke it loose. A bit of sanding and the new one went right in! Please don't cut your tips off flush with the mast...