Boom brakes

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captaina

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I own a 46ft sloop, on our way to the Med.

I've suddenly decided to care about boom brakes to prevent or slow a gybe.

Who can advise on which is better...the Walder Boom Brake or the Wichard Gyb'Easy Boom Brake?

And...with either...surely neither stops the boom from going across, they both only stop it doing so undamped. So...in strong winds, wouldn't you also still need a preventer going from the end of the boom to the bow, then back again to a winch?

Someone has told me that both of the above can be a preventer if you use a clutch on each side, but I can't understand that...the thingy on the boom is explicitly designed to allow the boom to cross over slowly, so it is not secured like a normal preventer.

Advice appreciated!
 
captaina said:
I own a 46ft sloop, on our way to the Med.

I've suddenly decided to care about boom brakes to prevent or slow a gybe.

Who can advise on which is better...the Walder Boom Brake or the Wichard Gyb'Easy Boom Brake?

And...with either...surely neither stops the boom from going across, they both only stop it doing so undamped. So...in strong winds, wouldn't you also still need a preventer going from the end of the boom to the bow, then back again to a winch?

Someone has told me that both of the above can be a preventer if you use a clutch on each side, but I can't understand that...the thingy on the boom is explicitly designed to allow the boom to cross over slowly, so it is not secured like a normal preventer.

Advice appreciated!
Click to expand...

I sailed a 40 odd foot yacht from the Canaries to the Solent. It was mostly downwind. The Wichard one was the puppys parts. Brill.
 
captaina said:
And...with either...surely neither stops the boom from going across, they both only stop it doing so undamped. So...in strong winds, wouldn't you also still need a preventer going from the end of the boom to the bow, then back again to a winch?
Click to expand...

I don't really like the idea of a preventer, because I don't like the thought of the backed sail being pinned out the wrong way spinning the boat round out of control. Nevertheless, this is better than taking someone's head off or damaging the rig, so I rig one when appropriate. A damper that instead eases the boom across under control seems to solve both issues, so I can't think why I'd want to also add another line to go back to the pinned-over situation.

Pete
 
Thought I had a piccie. :)


566_6682500x375.jpg
 
RichardS said:
This one:

http://www.sailspar.co.uk/boomlock/index.html

seems to have several advantages as it is a boom-preventer and an easily releasable damping device and I have seen it recommended in various blogs. Never tried it myself though!

Richard
Click to expand...


this is a very interesting coincidence - yesterday I was only chatting to a friend who claimed his in-laws family invented this very device! I looked it up on the internet and was able to supply him details - he was very impressed!
 
I can only speak for the Walder.

To help the OP; one line from the brake goes across the coachroof to a fixed point, such as a shroud plate. The line on the opposite side goes down to the deck, through a turning block and back to a cockpit winch.

The amount of 'prevention' you get is determined by the tension on the line. If you wind it in very hard, then unless you are sailing in a gale you will effectively have a preventer. If it is wound in less hard then your sail will gybe but only slowly.

The knack is to get the right tension for the right wind strength, and whether you want gybe control or complete prevention. It takes a bit of playing with to get that right but with a bit of use you get a feel for it.

Of course, you could also dispense with the kicker if you wanted as the Walder does that job too.

I've said my piece on this subject before: although these are expensive I would classify them as safety gear. Uncontrolled movements of booms are the biggest hazard on a boat, in my opinion. And not having to go forward to swap preventers over while running in big seas is a job well avoided.
 
A preventer on either side does the job just as well and a tiny part of the price. If you just use 1 line use a cow hitch where convenient. Take it down to your centre cleats or snatch blocks down onto the toe rails and then back to convenient cleats back in the cockpit.

If you do gybe, the forces are no greater than those applied by the boom brake. You can release or adjust at any time and it will act to take a lot of the flog out of a rolly downwind sail.

Try it. If you don't like it ,nothing lost.
 
I tie a line from the boom to the port or starboard mid ship cleat then run it aft to my stern cleat.

Release slowly durin gybing then re fix to opposite side.

Cost? Zip
 
I have only rigged it and tested it alongside so far but my Petzl? American figure of eight climbing friction device seems to be the answer for about £20.00. With a couple of blocks, a cleat and a caribiner total about £50.00. I'll post on here with pics when its been tried in anger.
 
I've got a Dutchman boom brake that's sat in a box on the boat for years unused. If anybody is interested in buying it, please give me a shout. Thanks
 
Monique said:
I tie a line from the boom to the port or starboard mid ship cleat then run it aft to my stern cleat.

Release slowly durin gybing then re fix to opposite side.

Cost? Zip
Click to expand...

Care to explain how you control an accidental gybe with that?
 
Maybe they just don't want to make a sonic boom, and they have the technology to slip quietly thru the air at supersonic speed.
 
galadriel said:
Care to explain how you control an accidental gybe with that?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for Monique but we do something similar. Our control line has a snap shackle which is clipped to the kicker attachment point on the underside of the boom. From there the line runs forward to a turning block on the toerail just forward of the shrouds.

The line then runs aft to a cleat on the cockpit coaming (we have a centre cockpit boat). There is the same arrangement on each side of the boat, the snap shackle being tied in at the centre of a suitably long piece of 10mm doublebraid. The line is only rigged when needed.

So to 'set' the boom we simply tighten the control line, which we call a preventer, on the relevant side. Once cleated it stops the boom moving aft. It's particularly useful in light conditions, stopping the boom flopping about, and especially when sailing by the lee, goosewinged (if I've got the terminology right - we are largely self-taught and I vaguely remember hearing the phrase as a child, about 40 years ago).
 
RichardS said:
This one:

http://www.sailspar.co.uk/boomlock/index.html

seems to have several advantages as it is a boom-preventer and an easily releasable damping device and I have seen it recommended in various blogs. Never tried it myself though!

Richard
Click to expand...

I have one of those and its a nice piece of kit. The only problem I had was in finding an attachment point on the toe rail in the correct position, because there was a stanchion blocking the hole I wanted to use. What I did was use a longer rope and lead it back via two blocks to a clutch on each side. This enables me to control tension, and still make fully controlled gybes by releasing the brake.
 
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