Boom Weak?
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Opus Dei was in this year’s Chicago Mac. If you haven’t heard, some of the wind cells in the big storm were graphed at 100 knots for 7 minutes. Opus Dei passed the word to me that his boom broke at the vang attachment. He advised me to check mine, so I’m passing same info to you.
I’ll be in the Chi Mac next year and I’m pretty sure Opus will be as well. He was way up front in his class. I was on a Bene 36.7 and he was right with us. (and we are no slackers!) He had to quit of course, but I bet he will be back.
I saw a posting where someone broke their boom in Kingston…same place?
I use a boomkicker..others?
The second year I had the boat the boom cracked at the vang attachment point. Of course the previous owner had installed a hydraulic vang, way over kill for the O30. I know if you asked Ballanger to double up that area Buzz wouldn’t question. Vang attachment points are high stress areas and should be checked regularly.
No visible issues on Old School, thank goodness. Wreaking Havoc broke theirs at CORK in 2009…I believe it was at the vang, but Richard might correct me there.
Over the years, I have broken two Olson 30 booms. They broke at the vang attachment each time.
I believe the booms Buzz provides now are much more robust. I have abused my present one with no ill effects.
Incidentally, one way to break a boom is to raise the main with the vang on. Bluto will keep looking for the hard spots along the luff while the leech enjoys significant leverage at the end of the boom. That is not fair to the boom or your mainsail. I know most of you guys know all that, but maybe it will help a newcomer save some $$.
AlAnd to add my two cents…vang is not needed until the boom is near the end of the traveler. The main sheet tackle can handle the leech easier than the vang.
We did break ours two years ago at Cork. It went as we pulled on the vang just as we started the first race. We were back for the start of the third race after finding a welder at queens and welding it back together. We then used it until last week when i finished a new one.
Richard
Wreaking Havoc
18186Bruce – I agree. It’s blowing well over 20 knots before I need to use the vang upwind. We use it downwind to help control twist, but if you go easy on the gybes it doesn’t take too much of a pounding. Do other people use the vang more often?
Upwind when it blows we need no vang. Travel down sheet hard. If you do vang in heavier air you put huge load on the vang when you sheet out to fall off. What are people using for the lower vang attachment? We have a boom kicker too.
I usually put vang on upwind when it is over 15 or so. This year I have been experimenting with twist when it is over 20, and my boat actually feels better and is a couple of tenths quicker with the vang off a bit.
I have an 8:1 vang lead to both cabin corners. No kicker…KISS.
Jim – what do you do to keep the leech tight when you have to depower past the end of the traveller? I don’t use vang until that point, but do put it on once we are depowering with the main sheet. The sail retains some of its drive that way, and isn’t ragging all over the place.
We do have a kicker that I find useful in light winds, and the vang is rigged 4:1 to the mast. Have you seen any sign of stress at your deck fittings Scot? I like the idea of an 8:1 config running to the rail, but we haven’t used it enough for me to have done anything special with it yet. Too many other things to reconfigure first . . .
You wanna see a Boom Break on my O30 while we were sailing?
http://www.Youtube.com/user/speedster236 There is a VID called The Boom Goes BOOM!I was driving, the other guy puts the vang on, we switch, and I never took it off!
BOOM!
I have a GoPro also. Don’t want to document destruction…but. And as a comment…do you always have the vang on that hard? It appeared to be so hard it was doing all the sheeting. I leave a bit to the sheet..am I wrong?
Kicker helps put in twist in light air..to reply to KISS. Plus it is required equipment for the ChiMac.
I am not sure how hard it was on, as we were just out playing around and not paying too much attention…The boom was weak, there were some holes that were cut with square edges instead of rounded and that was the weak spot…the aluminium actually tore apart.
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