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Need a New Boom or replacement Boom for 382

wild382

wild382

John
We broke our boom in a race today. Any suggestions where we can get a new one ASAP? We need one before this coming Friday. Only 3 races left here in New England and not much sail time left either. We are getting a late start seeing as my wife broke her arm and has been unable to sail. A few pictures of damage.

19794.jpg

broken boom 382



19795.jpg

broken boom - part that broke



19796.jpg

good ends
 
John,

Good luck with the boom search.

When you find the time please share the back story. Cause of failure? Previous damage or modifications at point of failure? Point of sail? Wind velocity?
 
Jeff
I can tell you what happened.
First...New crew... unfamiliar with the preventer setup on the boat and the forces that can be placed on the boom from over trimming
Second... The preventer attaches to a bale about one third back from the mast on the boom so there is a set of screw holes drilled into that area of the boom that may have weakened that area...(I don't know if it does for sure I'm not an engineerbut it certainly does not help)
Third and most importantly the main sheet has a 4:1 purchase and a crew member over trimmed the sail causing the failure...essentially like breaking a pencil! The wind was only about 8 knots at that moment we were on a broad reach coming up into a beat. The main boom wasn't coming in to accomadate the new point of sail because the preventer had not been released ...an enthusiastic crew member not realizing the preventer was still cranked down trimmed the main hard breaking the boom. No previous damage. It was my fault for not explaining the proper use of the preventer. It was too late ...it all happened in seconds
 
In hind site I should not have allowed the preventer to be on until there was a clear understanding of how it works...just to prevent unintended boom gibes...no one was hurt but what a bang! Like a shotgun went off. As a temp fix we are getting a sleeve welded. Hopefully I can figure out how to put the whole thing back together. A lot of things got cut off quick to avoid losing it in the water or hurting someone.
Will order a replacement from Rigrite as Alan Shedd has suggested or look into a Selden boom...I was originally going to order a carbon mast and boom from Hall spars but way overkill for the 382. Might be interesting to see what it would do though!
We have light weight Tafta racing sails due this week or next. We debated north sails or Doyle ...went with Doyle because of the service we get...price was about the same...not cheap! We have new 3 year old on seasonal fresh water sails
 
I would have thought or hoped that the boom was stronger than any crew member, even with 4 to 1 purchase. I cautionary tale, for sure. Good luck.
 
The boom is repaired. An internal sleeve was placed inside where the boom broke and an internal compression tube. In hind site probably not worth doing. The internal purchase block for the out haul can hang up on the cross pin and/or tubing but it could do that with the bale bolt as well. Because the boom bent slightly just before it snapped in two there is also a slight cant to one side by about 1/2" to 3/4". Essential a curve to the boom. I needed this done asap so for me it was worth the $350 to have it done from Sunday morning to today. Pretty fast.
I will order a new boom though cause I cant stand seeing that slight bend from the helm!

If you are not in a hurry or racing like I do and you can wait I would just order a new spar from Rig Rite or somewhere like that. By the way there was no corrosion or anything like that it was just my poor management of crew.
The lateral forces with a preventer down on a broad reach and someone sheeting in on a main can easily break any boom. Just Google broken sailboat boom videos ...tons of them I found out.

I hope this experience helps others tend to their preventer carefully if you use one.
 
By the way the guy in the photo is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman
RCMP. He is sort of giving me a hard time. Here is a photo of the internal sleeve welded and reinforced with lateral braces(sorry for the poor quality)


19802.jpg


this is where it broke at the preventer bale. That's a reinforced tube going across the section of the boom. The bale bolt is inside.
 
Just so there is no doubt ...the wind was light at the time...here you can see the boom was out over starboard on the main. The head sail was sheeted in because we were tacking at least so we thought... a crew member didnt realize the preventer was back on and just went "gorilla" on the main sheet...and bam! broken boom right a the bale bolt for the preventer.


19805.jpg
 
John,
You can try finding the same boom section and then rebuilding the boom. I rebuilt mine, once the ends are off take them and have them hard anodized. I believe the original hardware was Kenyon.
 
Thanks Jose!
I think I will be getting a new spar/boom. You are correct Kenyon. RigRite is very difficult to deal with. They dont call back. When I ask for the price for the part. Selden says how high how fast and what would you like and when do you need it.
 
Hey, John - did you end up getting a new boom?

My boom is reaching the end of it's life. Outhaul slider is totally fused into the track. It won't budge despite vinegar baths, penetrating oils, vibrating hammers of various sizes, heat treatments, and chanting/cursing. Also the sheaves need to be replaced but to do that, the end fitting needs to be removed however they are also fused into the boom. Also previous owner did bad job of painting and it's all peeling. Booms are pretty important and it's time for a rehab or purchase.

I too have tried to deal with Rig Rite. Simplest solution is to get another boom segment and use most of the fittings from my existing boom. I can get them off if I'm willing to destroy the boom tube. Rig Rite has the same terrible customer service I remember from two years ago. I can't get them to just tell me if they have the boom tubing in stock. It's reached a point where I don't want to give them another dime of my money. I remember getting terrible customer service from companies decades ago, but it seems that most companies have gotten customer service figured out. Not Rig Rite. The lady at the other end chewed me out for calling *again* when they still hadn't given me an answer.

I've been talking with US Spar. They seem very helpful and it seems like it will be around $1k plus shipping from FL to Oregon.

Did you get a new boom? Anyone else? Where did you get it from and approx how much $$?

Thanks!
 
I got the U.S. SPARS Z362 boom for my 384. It was $800.00 through Sailing Services in Miami plus shipping. It was complete with 4 outboard sheaves, 4 inboard jammers, 7 under boom cars for vang, main sheet blocks, and 3 reef leads. There was no outhaul so had to make that. Your mainsail foot slugs won't fit in the track so will need to be changed or as I did, go loose footed. There is also no outboard car for the clew so I had a strop made up to keep the clew down. I like it, works good. John
 
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