LESSONS LEARNED WHILE CRUISING Jamie & Behan Gifford The Silent Boom


Niall and Siobhan enjoy sunset from their secure perch on “Totem’s” boom; Makemo, Tuamotus, French Polynesia


Test each fastener to see if it is stripped and has no holding power; or “frozen” and cannot be removed. If you have any concerns, consult a skilled rigger.


Due to dynamic forces and constant movement, boom related problems are common to active cruisers.


It’s a machine, an instrument, a


jungle-gym, and a killer club. A boom onboard a sailboat is engineered to be the structural base of the mainsail. So simple a task, that it often never makes the list of regularly inspected items. Due to dynamic and at times severe forces, constant movement, and construction, boom related problems are as common to active cruisers as beautiful anchorages are to Puget Sound.


Like many boats we’ve encountered


while cruising, Totem has seen her share of boom related issues. Fortunately, because of inspection, precautions, and some luck none of the four problems we’ve had amounted to more than a footnote in the logbook. After fixing our own gooseneck problems with the help of a rigger in San Diego, I found that a large number of friends’ boats that I visited had similar issues. Moderate to excessive wear was surprisingly common and in several cases structural problems were evident. To begin a boom inspection, start at the gooseneck.


Gooseneck: Test for wear by rotating the boom near the gooseneck, using the same rotation as a pencil on a desk. If 48° NORTH, OCTOBER 2010 PAGE 34


there is more than a little movement, the holes that the two connecting pins pass through are likely worn. The boom should not be under load when testing, so be sure the mainsheet and vang are eased. In 15 months of cruising in Mexico,


I found 15 worn goosenecks, or “loose- necks” as they became known. Almost all of them had the same cause; threaded stainless steel bolt connecting pins in an aluminum gooseneck. The threaded sections were too long, so that they cut away at the aluminum hole with each boom movement. This problem is often easily fixed by installing bronze “oil- lite” bushings and changing to pins with only enough threads to secure the nut.


Structurally, a gooseneck must


withstand compression and rotational forces under the worst conditions. I know of six boats with broken goosenecks that were either preparing for or underway to the Marquesas. Carefully inspect the gooseneck and adjoining boom and mast sections for cracks, especially along welds. Using a magnifying glass can be helpful. Stainless steel fasteners in aluminum will suffer from galvanic corrosion.


Boom Topping Lift: Intended to hold the far end of the boom up, sometimes in conjunction with a rigid boom vang. Often, a topping lift is made from wire that in time suffers from broken strands. Broken wire strands, or “meat-hooks,” can shred mainsail leech material. Vinyl coated wire helps prevent meat-hooks but is more prone to breaking because the coating traps moisture against the wire. Once I saw several people leaning against a boom when the wire topping lift broke, resulting in bruises to both crew and boat. Consider replacing wire with lightweight Spectra. Or, if you’re preparing to cruise offshore and have a second mainsail halyard sheave, consider installing a spare main halyard that is also the boom topping lift.


Mainsheet: The designs for mainsheet systems vary greatly: end-of-boom or mid-boom sheeting, block-and- tackle configurations, with or without traveler, etc. The single most important mainsheet feature is that it keeps the boom connected to the boat. If that connection fails with the mainsail up, the boom can be lethal. We were lucky onboard Totem when the heavy-duty stainless steel mainsheet connection point on the boom broke, partway to the Marquesas. The mainsail was up, but slatting in light air (despite being reefed, with mainsheet, vang, and preventer on). When the connection broke we were able to quickly secure


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