Re: [IC27A] Boom

[Judith Blumhorst, DC]

Hi John,

 

Here's my personal opinion -- your mileage may vary....

 

I'd recommend a topping lift or a rigid boom vang.  I've never used a fiberglass boom kicker, so I can't comment on them.

 

I've got a topping lift that runs aft on my Potter 19 and a Seld rigid vang (with a gas strut) on the C27. 

 

The rigid vang is a little more convenient to use than the topping lift, but cost about $300+ more than rigging a topping lift.

 

The topping lift is cheap and works just fine.  It's just a line with a carbiner on the end; we clip the carbiner to the end of the boom.  we can adjust the topping lift with a spinlock clutch on the cabin top.  

 

(call Garhauer Marine - they make the Catalina Direct upgrade gear and make a nice solid boom vang for the C27.  www.garhauermarine.com

 

The pigtail on the backstay is safe for holding the boom up only when the mainsail is down.  It shouldn't be used for raising sail or reefing, because it doesn't permit the boom to swing outboard if the wind shifts.   Both our boats have pigtails on the backstay, but we use them only for keeping the boom up when the main is furled.   We unclip the boom from pigtail before leaving the dock.   It's a pain to unclip underway and we don't need it.

 

I've personally been aboard a boat where the skipper raised his main while the boom was still connected to the pigtail.  That was "an accident waiting to happen". 

The boat started sailing at a 45+ degree heel though a mooring field (at Ayala Cove on Angel Island).  With the pressure on the sail, it was mpossible to unclip the pigtail to let the boom out.   Even though we had the OB running, we had no steerage way with the boat over on her side.  The only thing to do was to drop the mainsail and start over.  (I regret that I listened to him in the first place.  After than, I talked in into a different plan to raise the sail.)

 

HTH,

Judy Blumhorst

1977 C27 TR #3459 "Bijou"

San Francisco Bay and Delta

www.blumhorst.com

 

---

From: John Guttridge <j...@blackboxcc.com>
To: IC27A@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 8:19:59 PM
Subject: [IC27A] Boom

I am considering rigging a topping lift as the little clip that fastens to the back stay that came with my boat seems like a poor solution at best. I had it shake out when I was dousing the main and I brained the girl that was manning the tiller in high winds. She was a fantastic sport but it could have gone a whole lot worse so it seems like I need something better. I am wondering if anyone has tried using a boomkicker instead of a topping lift. My boat was also at one time rigged with the topping lift control run back to the cockpit from the mast base through a deck organizer. The kit that CD sells looks like it goes to a horn cleat on the boom are there advantages of doing it one way or the other?

 

Thanks,

 

John Guttridge
President and Senior Consultant
Black Box Computer Consulting
306 East State Street, Suite 230
Ithaca, NY 14850
Office: 607.277.8585
Mobile: 607.227.6884
eMail: j...@blackboxcc. com

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