I'm a beginner windsurfer (not even on the water yet!). I bought a couple of sails, a mast and a boom off the forum here; don't have a board yet.

I tried to rig up the sails on the weekend to see if I knew how to put it together and found that I can't adjust the boom. I can unclip the boom and pull the bracket back (I can see the pins are clear of the holes), but the extensible bit is stuck fast.

I guess it hasn't been used in a while and wasn't washed down after use and has bonded itself. Being quite rough with it didn't budge it, and washing it down has made it shiny, but it still won't move.

Any suggestions for getting it unstuck?

^+1 What he said. Although i have broken some old relics which were too corroded. Sometimes banging the tailpiece on the ground can loosen it before you yank on it. Use plenty of water to flush particles out.

Hot water can help dissolve the salt and expand the aluminium (if it is Ali?). A pressure washer can help get water up the jammed tube which might break the salt ali corrosion. Good luck. Where are you based? If in Sydney look us us for some moral support on your first outings.

If it's the sort you can remove either end, you have a better chance by by twisting each side one at a time.

^^ have heard this also works for unsticking a mast. Saltwater pool?

greenleader said..
chuck it in the swimming pool for a few days....

Nothing has worked; still stuck fast. This swimming pool thing might be the last hope... Just any pool? I assume not freshwater pool and for how long?

Curious: what happens? google sent me on a trip down the rabbithole

Well, a few days underwater hasn't seem to have helped it much. I guess it will be a fixed length boom for whenever I get to use the bigger sail. I'll go looking for a second hand boom in the 170cm range... Thanks for the tips. I'll try the car-jack thing sometime and let you now if it worked out..

8 men.....4 each end twisting in unison always works

If it's one of those ridiculous "hybrid" booms with a carbon tail piece and aluminium main part, you're f****d.

Someone should be able to sort you out with a boom for pennies, there are so many people that have upgraded to carbon that all the alloy booms out there are virtually worthless..