Boom Brake or home made preventer?

[samwise]

Always seeking to make life on board a bit more simple ( and hopefully more efficient), I have been looking at commercial boom brakes as a possible replacement for our usual preventer arrangement.

This follows the conventional system of running a long line from boom end, around a snatchblock on the foredeck and back down the other side of the boat to a jammer and winch. It works pretty well but is a PIA to gybe when you have to swap the lines . Attaching the working line to a long loop from the boom end makes it a bit easier but there is still a moment or too when you are exposed to the risk of an involuntary gybe.

I have been looking at the Wichard Gybe easy and the Dutchman both of which work on the same variable friction principle.

While they would both slow down and control the gybe I am not convinced that they would perform like a "proper" preventer,even when tightened right up, especially as the lines run from the chain plates to the centre of the boom making for less efficient rigging geometry.

However, in the light of my quest for an easier life, they do tick a lot of the boxes (albeit expensively). Anyone have any views or experiences. I understand that Libby P is a fan.

 

[idpnd]

I found one on my new to me boat, didn't know what it was until a friend informed me. First started rigging a preventer on the first few downwind runs with the boat, annoying as ever when you gibe or go upwind for a bit you have to leave the cockpit and fiddle around with your knots blabla.

Evetnually decided to give the boom brake a crack. Havent looked back since, was going dead downwind in swell for 6 hours the other day with it rigged quite tightly (can be adjusted from cockpit), the foresails kept gibing and the mainsail just stayed in place. It simply works.

 

[alisdair4]

Boom Brakes and Preventers

I've never tried a Boom Brake - although I can see some attraction. However, I also don't see (and have never had) a problem with a permanently rigged preventer, which has a snap shackle at each ends, and a turning block in the centre of the foredeck. Am I missing something?

 

[whiteshythe]

Preventer

I have a permanently rigged preventer which I have used on my 39ft boat for 11 years without ever suffering an accidental gybe.
It consists of a continuous line attached at its mid length to an eye near the end of the boom. The two ends are led fwd to swivel blocks securely mounted to eye rings in the deck on either side of the coachroof, then back to cockpit mounted winches via turning blocks. You can substitute a couple of strong cleats if you have no spare winches.
The beauty of my system, besides being low cost, is that you can lock the boom in any position, When gybing, the speed at which the boom comes across can be controlled by surging the line around the winch. Once the gybe is complete pull in the slack on the leeward line and secure around winch or cleat.

 

[Norman_E]

I used to rig a preventer rope when going downwind, but bought a Scott Boomlock. http://www.sailspar.co.uk/boomlock.html The advantage I find is that when I do want to gybe, I can control the friction, allowing the boom to move gently across. I found it hard to get the Boomlock rope accurately positioned for even tension, so brought both ends back from turning blocks to the aft cleats, and tie them off as required.

 

[LadyInBed]

I do it similar to whiteshythe, it is cheap and it works.

 

[William_H]

Gybing

All this is of interest to me.
last Wed. night went out for a short sail with a few visitors and I allowed a friend to helm. It was blowing 20+ knots and I foolishly omitted to put in a reef. The boat went really well especially down wind however my friend did a few gybes. I was sort of in the hatchway and should have instructed the visitors (crew) on how to gentle the boom crossing with the main sheet.
You can grasp the whole mainsheet bundle in the middle and both pull the boom across and take some of the force out by fighting it with your arms. or you can pull the sheet in to cause the gybe then let it out slowly.
Anyway I always thought my boom/gooseneck was strong enough to take any abuse until after the 5th gybe we found the gooseneck had let go of its attachment to the mast. It was attached by a strap with 6 4mm Al. pop rivets. The abuse plus probably some corrosion had sheared off all 6 rivets.

Finally I decided to put in the reef which fortunately pulls the tack to the mast not the boom so while the foot was not as tight as I would like we had quite a good sail home upwind.

Anyway this all gets me to thinking about some sort of shock absorber to slow the boom down in a gybe on my little boat with large mainsail.
To be honest I probably won't do it but it seems to me that a tackle 4 purchase or even 6 provides a lot of friction when pulled apart with no restraint on the tail. It seems to me that a a 4 purchase tackle from the end of the boom to the stern quarter with tail not cleated could slow the boom down in the gybe as it has to drag all the rope through the pulleys. There would be a lot of rope lying around. Especially with similar on the other side. Except that you could use one rope through 2 tackles so as one pulls out the other is taken in. The tackle could be fitted closer to the gooseneck with less power but out of the way on the cabin top.
What does the panel think. For the cost of 4 double pulleys and some rope. There would be no need to tend anything once it is in place and gybing would be gentler. olewill

 

[sighmoon]

I've always been curious about Boom breaks / preventers. If you have one rigged, and the main backs, and it wants to gybe, what happens next? Does the boat skew round so that the mainsail, in the same position relative to the boat, then faces downwind, so the boat is side on to the waves? Or is the boat easy enough to control and get back on the right course?

I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but if I'm sailing dead downwind in a blow, I ease the kicking strap. which will allow you to sail a bit by the lee. It can make the boat lean to windward a little, but you get used to it. If you do then gybe accidentally, it takes a bit of the sting out of it because the bottom of the sail gybes momentarily before the top.

 

[sighmoon]

Anyway this all gets me to thinking about some sort of shock absorber to slow the boom down in a gybe on my little boat with large mainsail.
To be honest I probably won't do it but it seems to me that a tackle 4 purchase or even 6 provides a lot of friction when pulled apart with no restraint on the tail. It seems to me that a a 4 purchase tackle from the end of the boom to the stern quarter with tail not cleated could slow the boom down in the gybe as it has to drag all the rope through the pulleys. There would be a lot of rope lying around. Especially with similar on the other side. Except that you could use one rope through 2 tackles so as one pulls out the other is taken in. The tackle could be fitted closer to the gooseneck with less power but out of the way on the cabin top.
What does the panel think. For the cost of 4 double pulleys and some rope. There would be no need to tend anything once it is in place and gybing would be gentler. olewill

I can imagine it would work wonderfully, until the rope gets tangled, which it will.

 

[oldvarnish]

I've got a Walder boom brake ( Allspars, Plymouth).

Until you've seen a main full of wind swing gently as you gybe, you don't know what a vital piece of safety gear this is.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

What are the esteemed panel's views on the occasionally quoted downside risk of loading on the boom?

i'd very much like a boom brake, but have thus far held off, as the times i'd need it most would be when its windy and lumpy, and therefore when the loads on the gear are the highest.... which makes me nervous... but i'd not be unhappy at avoiding the trip forward to set up the preventer

 

[idpnd]

although the boom brake is usually installed somewhere in the middle of the boom, you wouldn't be getting the explosive loads you get on an "illicit" gybe on those fittings, since the boom never really accelerates..

 

[Stemar]

This looks like a useful bit of kit, but at over £200, I'm expecting the cashier to wear a mask and carry a blunderbuss

At that price, on my low-budget 24 footer it just ain't going to happen but, on a 24 footer, the loads aren't that high. Would a bow shackle fixed to the boom with the friction line attached like a reef knot work provided the line's kept reaonably taut?

 

[Kelpie]

What are they making these things out of? Unobtanium?
I wonder if you could adapt a figure-of-eight from a climbing harness.

 

[flaming]

although the boom brake is usually installed somewhere in the middle of the boom, you wouldn't be getting the explosive loads you get on an "illicit" gybe on those fittings, since the boom never really accelerates..

You'd be suprised. Had one on my Dad's old boat, and snapped the boom clean in two in an intentional gybe using the boomlock to slow the boom.

New boat has a conventional preventer setup through turning blocks on the foredeck. Although a word of warning - the high tech lightweight blocks aren't really designed with this sort of shock loading in mind. We had one explode when the main backwinded with "interesting" consequences. Now the preventer lines run through some bog standard types with nice solid pins through the middle!

 

[FullCircle]

You'd be suprised. Had one on my Dad's old boat, and snapped the boom clean in two in an intentional gybe using the boomlock to slow the boom.

New boat has a conventional preventer setup through turning blocks on the foredeck. Although a word of warning - the high tech lightweight blocks aren't really designed with this sort of shock loading in mind. We had one explode when the main backwinded with "interesting" consequences. Now the preventer lines run through some bog standard types with nice solid pins through the middle!

Blimey Ed, that's got to be the first time I have seen you recommend 'old' technology!

 

[flaming]

Blimey Ed, that's got to be the first time I have seen you recommend 'old' technology!

Done through gritted teeth I assure you!

 

[idpnd]

You'd be suprised. Had one on my Dad's old boat, and snapped the boom clean in two in an intentional gybe using the boomlock to slow the boom.

Intentional gybe without hauling in the mainsail sheet?

 

[flaming]

Intentional gybe without hauling in the mainsail sheet?

Mainshhet part hauled.

At that point we were in the habit of hauling the mainsheet in until the boom lock stopped it, then gybing and slowly releasing the boom to cross the boat.
Not the best technique I'd freely admit, but it still shouldn't have snapped the boom....

 

[morgandlm]

Boom brake

There has been a thread on this subject before but I can't find it.
I used one of these "figure of 8" type boom brakes on a Sweden 42 in June during the "blind sailing week" out of Falmouth. We found it difficult to set up correctly for different conditions but liked the assurance that we would not get a violent, involuntary gybe. (Important with blind sailors on board and especially so when they were helming) For instance, when set to give enough control of the boom in heavy winds, the boom would not move over when tacking in lighter winds. So a fair amount of fiddling about is required. Gybing in strong winds was certainly more controlled and less vigorous when it was set up correctly. Adjustment requires changing line tension but also changing the number of loops through the brake. Going back to a previously identified set-up was always a bit suck-it-and-see .... but perhaps we were just not very good at it?

On my own boat (a Sadler 26), I prefer to use a gybe preventer that can be released from the cockpit in the event that a gybe is required. I have a line permanently attached under the boom that enables the preventer to be attached without needing to reach the end of the boom. On balance I think I prefer the certainty that the boom will not gybe.
Morgan