Select to expand quoteCambodge said..
electrical tape wrapped around the join several times before sliding the mast up the luff tube.
Better still, 'Duck' tape. 
Select to expand quoteSparky said..
I used all my tape patching up my girlfriend.
Bicycle patches work better than tape for that.
Putting a band of tape ,whether it be masking tape, cello tape, electrical tape,duct tape best, will save you a lot of money,. When your in a rush to get on the water, some times if you don't tape up ,and check your mast gap the worst can happen, split mast top and rips in luff pocket ,by pinching sail.By all means you can cut out the crack or split and turn your mast from a 430 to a 415 ,but mast will never fit snug again, and will not last as long as it should.
Tape on mast joint is like screw driver and bung, make sure you do this before getting out there.
One last thing ,is pick your tape up and put it in the bin after use.
We all stuff up once or twice,then lesson learnt .
Select to expand quoteSparky said...Shifu said..
Two turns of electrical tape is perfect. The mast halves stay together and nothing gets. I can un-tape a mast after sailing 100ks in an afternoon and find it still dry at the ferrule.
Tape mast halves should be the first thing people learn about windsurfing. It's so fundamental that if you don't do it and then suffer from mast separation of stuck pieces you should be considered an idiot.
This idiot has windsurfed for 33 years without once taping a mast. Maybe I got a mast stuck once, 15 years ago! for 10 minutes. Otherwise I've been lucky, (or smart to keep the mast out of the sand). Just thought I would mention that it's not windsurfing 101, and not everyone does it.
Sparky, Sparky, Sparky...
Just trying humbly to help prevent those once a month "help my mast is stuck" threads.
Select to expand quoteShifu said..Sparky said...Shifu said..
Two turns of electrical tape is perfect. The mast halves stay together and nothing gets. I can un-tape a mast after sailing 100ks in an afternoon and find it still dry at the ferrule.
Tape mast halves should be the first thing people learn about windsurfing. It's so fundamental that if you don't do it and then suffer from mast separation of stuck pieces you should be considered an idiot.
This idiot has windsurfed for 33 years without once taping a mast. Maybe I got a mast stuck once, 15 years ago! for 10 minutes. Otherwise I've been lucky, (or smart to keep the mast out of the sand). Just thought I would mention that it's not windsurfing 101, and not everyone does it.
Sparky, Sparky, Sparky...
Just trying humbly to help prevent those once a month "help my mast is stuck" threads.
Ok, ok, you are right. It seems a fool proof method. Thank you
Select to expand quoteSparky said..Shifu said..
Two turns of electrical tape is perfect. The mast halves stay together and nothing gets. I can un-tape a mast after sailing 100ks in an afternoon and find it still dry at the ferrule.
Tape mast halves should be the first thing people learn about windsurfing. It's so fundamental that if you don't do it and then suffer from mast separation of stuck pieces you should be considered an idiot.
This idiot has windsurfed for 33 years without once taping a mast. Maybe I got a mast stuck once, 15 years ago! for 10 minutes. Otherwise I've been lucky, (or smart to keep the mast out of the sand). Just thought I would mention that it's not windsurfing 101, and not everyone does it.
At our home beach, we often see guys like you who have been lucky for years or decades of sailing, and then end up with a stuck must that needs 8 or 10 guys to separate. About once a year, even 10 guys, wiggling, booms, and whatever else someone tries does not work, and they drive home with a one-piece mast. Those that have this "new" experience are generally visitor. Regulars use tape. I have not had a stuck mast there in several hundred sessions.
So where you sail may make a big difference with respect to stuck masts. It's not just sand that gets in while rigging, but also sand suspended in the water. When water gets into the mast during a crash (or when starting), part of it can come out where the halves connect, getting sand in there.
But even if you don't have any sand in the water where you sail, tape will usually work well to keep masts halves from separating when rigging. It can also make derigging easier, since you can rotate and pull from the bottom to get the mast out.
I take a bicycle inner tube. Cut into pieces 3" long and slip over joints on all my masts. it stays on the mast. I roll it back before putting bottom on top.
A simple tip which you may find useful. Roll up a plastic shopping bag into a ball and stick it up the mast. That way your masts will always be free from sand. When I rig up, I just remove the plug from the top half, and leave the plug in the bottom half. Once the sail is in, I insert the mast extension. A good use of plastic bag and recycling.
Think about how 2-piece masts, mate together... then think about bending the mast through 30 deg.
Simply put, it opens-up the joint... just enough to allow Gravity to encourage a single grain of sand quite deep into the opening.
This is particularly a problem where the bottom section, is inserted into the top.
It is much less of a problem for top-insert-into-bottom masts, as Gravity works in your favour.
Select to expand quoteJupiter said..
A simple tip which you may find useful. Roll up a plastic shopping bag into a ball and stick it up the mast. That way your masts will always be free from sand. When I rig up, I just remove the plug from the top half, and leave the plug in the bottom half. Once the sail is in, I insert the mast extension. A good use of plastic bag and recycling.
Wont work when starting in shore beak that has sand stirred up in the water trust me. Even rivers etc
I like the idea though as an added thing
Select to expand quoteJupiter said..
A simple tip which you may find useful. Roll up a plastic shopping bag into a ball and stick it up the mast. That way your masts will always be free from sand. When I rig up, I just remove the plug from the top half, and leave the plug in the bottom half. Once the sail is in, I insert the mast extension. A good use of plastic bag and recycling.
I rigged up a couple of days ago and had a bad feeling. I ran my fingers over the luff pocket where I knew the join was and the mast wasn't inserted all the way. I wonder if I could have still felt that if the open join was covered with a bike tube.
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..
Wont work when starting in shore beak that has sand stirred up in the water trust me. Even rivers etc I like the idea though as an added thing
Quite valid there. I have not sailed in shore break a long time ago. Hated the repeated dumping 
Select to expand quoteAgrid said..
I rigged up a couple of days ago and had a bad feeling. I ran my fingers over the luff pocket where I knew the join was and the mast wasn't inserted all the way. I wonder if I could have still felt that if the open join was covered with a bike tube.
I often wonder if sand is introduced while you are sailing, or while rigging up. The fact that I always am very conscious of the possibility of sand being picked up while rigging, I have not yet a mini drama involving a stubborn 2 piece mast. Regarding mast not being fully inserted, I just give the 2 sections a good twist before applying the downhaul. I reckon an extra 5 minutes to ensure everything is in order is well worth it.
Never done tape never will.
Probably gunna get sand in joint from inside anyway.
Mast pulls apart while rigging. If top is fixed right in sail and mast is pushed together then it should stay that way when you downhaul.
Just sayin
Select to expand quoteRAL INN said..
Never done tape never will.
Probably gunna get sand in joint from inside anyway.
Mast pulls apart while rigging. If top is fixed right in sail and mast is pushed together then it should stay that way when you downhaul.
Just sayin
Didn't you go to the dark side for a while? No masts, no tape needed.
