wood or aluminum boom?

[switters]

So the fiances "new" boat, the fantastic plastic puffer, does not have a boom. After some internet searching it has become apparent that I will need to fabricate one.

My first thought was aluminum, go buy some tube roughly of the correct diameter and seal the end, grind out the mast fitting and attach hardware as required. What wall thickness though?

Then I thought, why not wood? Certainly easier to come by, a bit more stylish, but what diameter?

Any thoughts?

I have no idea how big around the boom is supposed to be, the length will be fairly obvious.

While she is very excited to get her boat out, I told her that the boom will wait until the current projects are done, about another month.

Thanks,

[Thorne]

Size of sail? Weight of boat? Diameter of mast? Length of the foot and luff?

Go for it -- wood booms are easy to build and pretty if you varnish the beastie.

[switters]

60 sq feet, foot is a little less than 6 feet, not sure of the leech, about 15'. I spent some time reading Machalik and Payson last night after realizing that I was missing the gooseneck also. Wood it is, closet rod until I figure it out, then something not as flexible. This will help get the hardware right and the connectin to the mast figured out.

[Thorne]

Closet rod = very poor choice! They break quite easily. Gooseneck won't attach well.

Pick up a nice clear Doug Fir 2x4 and plane/grind/sand down to shape - much better material and probably cheaper too.

Here's how I made a boom for my <40 sq ft mainsail -

http://www.luckhardt.com/gaffjaws1.jpg
Rather than have a metal gooseneck, I chose a gaff jaw design, which allows the boom to easily be adjusted up and down the mast. The gaff jaw design also lets the boom be raised parallel to the mast for quick sail stowage and furling. These jaws were cut from scrap white oak, and will be glued and bolted to the end of the boom.

http://www.luckhardt.com/newestboom1.jpg
I picked up a clear fir 2x4 and trimmed it to 1 1/8" thick by 2" wide on the tablesaw. Several passes with the planer and beltsander rounded the edges nicely. I made it a few inches longer than the old boom that came with the Sabot sail and mast.

http://www.luckhardt.com/newestboom2.jpg
I used PL Premium instead of epoxy this time to glue the gaff jaws onto the boom -- you can see how cheap I am, as I've used up the tube in the caulking gun and then cut the top off to get at the last bits of gluey goodness.
Todd Bradshaw from the Wooden Boat Forum suggested cutting the two notches in the inside edges of the jaws, as they can be used to hang blocks for tack or downhaul lines.



http://www.luckhardt.com/gaffjawblock2.jpg
I also used PL Premium to glue the leather onto the jaws of the gaff boom one it was varnished, and hung a rather large wooden block that I'd picked up on eBay several years ago. The scissors clip above the block clips onto the tack of the sail, allowing the boom to pull the sail down when sheeted in tight - aka 'self-vanging'.



http://www.luckhardt.com/boomendblock.jpg
The aft end of the boom has two holes for mainsheet blocks and lashing the clew of the sail, plus further forward a fairlead on one side and a cleat on the other for the aft reefing line. Tarred nylon seine twine is used to lash these blocks and clips in place -- it is very strong and can be burned to seal the ends, unlike the polyester marline.


http://www.luckhardt.com/elk29.jpg
In use.

[switters]

Thorne, over the last two years you have been like a wooden boat saint. I have this thread bookmarked and when I get done moving in two weeks I'll start to post my progress.

Thanks again, owe you a few rounds when I next get out to the bay area longer than 8 hours.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Great pics Thorne...:)

[Thorne]

Great pics Thorne...:)

I didn't include the embarrassing ones of the first boom I built -- thought I'd be clever and epoxy two thin pieces of 1x4 DF together, but the whole thing snapped at the first flex test.

Solid wood = good!

http://www.luckhardt.com/boomglue1.jpg

[redbopeep]

Thorne, that looks lovely! Good job :)