Removing Stainless mast cap.

[hirover]

Have a '69 oval aluminum mast with a stainless mast cap. Trying to remove it but it's frozen on. Removed all the obvious fasteners but it's still locked on like it's epoxied in place. Can drive putty knife in where there is a small gap between aluminum and stainless so it doesn't seem like there is anything holding it around the sides other than the fasteners.

AM I MISSING SOMETHING??? Help, need to get the masthead off to run new wires and bring the main and jib halyard internal.

[Peter O]

A hacksaw solved the problem. Cut the mast head off. very easy to cut the aluminum with a hacksaw. Wasn't all that hard to get the aluminum remnants of the mast out of the masthead so still a puzzle why it was so firmly attached.

Will use a 2" uhmw plastic spacer at the base of the mast. The boom was kind of low so will give a bit more head room under it. Mainsail hoist shouldn't be a problem but will use Cunningham more religiously if it is.