Boom made by Kemp of Southampton - help with spares or repair service please

Burnham Bob

Burnham Bob

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Kemp don't show up on google so I can't send the pics I took and ask for advice. 2014-07-19 15.04.21.jpg2014-07-19 15.04.34.jpg2014-07-19 15.57.44.jpg

As you can see (if the pics upload!) the boom is made by Kemps of Southampton. The problem is the crack on one side of the end ring where the main sheet attaches although everything seems ok at the moment. On the other side is what looks like a spot weld - again see pic. Any suggestions for in in situ repair? I'm loath to try to take the three screws out and pull the bit off as I know from experience everything willl be seized solid! Or am I being defeatist already?

I suppose I could try to take it off and get a weld done but putting it back on might be a tight fit. Is my best bet to open my wallet and get a rigger to do the job?
 
Am I right in thinking that it is a round the boom reefing system, where the boom rotates to raise or lower the sail, but the broken ring stay upright? If so I suggest you dismantle it and get a stainless steel fabricator to make a new ring complete with mainsheet attachment lug (and a lug on the opposite side for a topping lift if you want one). The original looks like cast aluminium and although it can be welded I suspect that it has become a bit brittle so may fail again. If you have a stainless ring made you could design in a clearance on diameter to insert a strip of skived (flexible) PTFE sheet.
 
If you no longer need the boom to turn why not just drill and tap the end fitting (three holes spaced 120 degrees between the existing ones) and bolt on a piece of plate shaped to provide both mainsheet and topping lift attachment points?
 
The 3 screws allow the end plate to come off and then removal of the cracked ring. The pop rivets hold the rest in the boom so if the screws are stuck take the whole fitting off. As mentioned Selden took over Kemp and the boom style is from the mid 70's. Mine is like it and the goose neck is a standard fitting so and the main is slab reefing. I do like Norman_E's (post 5) sugestion as many years ago I had to get a ring fabricated as mine wore out ! If you go down the casting route Kemp told me that the aluminium metal mix was called '****'! (sierra hotel india tango)
 
thanks Boathook - so you reckon the end should come off if the screws undo easily? that is easy enough to test. maybe i'm too pessimistic but every ten minute job i've ever tried turned out to take two days................

my oterh fear is that if i close the crack up with a weld I won't get the ring back on - but let's see.
 
We have that same fitting on a Rival 32 (probably similar age). While not cracked like yours, its is a bit worn.
We have changed to slab reefing, so the boom roller gear never does anything (though still works).
There's three loops under the fitting for the mainsheet attachment. Two of ours are worn enough to not trust, and we're on the third. When that wears (seems like they only last 20 years each part), then we need a new boom fitting.

On another "tack", we need a fitting for a spinnaker pole of same vintage and same manufacturer. Looks like nothing available, so might have to do a repair job on it. The aluminium is in good order, but the stainless hook on the end (sits in a cast aluminium end-piece) is broken. At least stainless is relatively easy to weld, unlike cast "aluminium" (muck-metal).


ps
I tried once to get those screws out of the end plate on the boom, and could not. As it wasn't essential, I left it.
 
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as I thought - i will have a go at my three screws and let you all know. but as an aside what's the opinion of a stainless steel piece bent to the right circular shape and epoxied over the crack?
 
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Burnham Bob said:
Kemp don't show up on google so I can't send the pics I took and ask for advice. View attachment 44155View attachment 44156View attachment 44157

As you can see (if the pics upload!) the boom is made by Kemps of Southampton. The problem is the crack on one side of the end ring where the main sheet attaches although everything seems ok at the moment. On the other side is what looks like a spot weld - again see pic. Any suggestions for in in situ repair? I'm loath to try to take the three screws out and pull the bit off as I know from experience everything willl be seized solid! Or am I being defeatist already?

I suppose I could try to take it off and get a weld done but putting it back on might be a tight fit. Is my best bet to open my wallet and get a rigger to do the job?
Click to expand...

Try Atlantic Spars & Rigging - we got an obsolete, so every one told me, gooseneck thingie for a Kemp mast & boom.

www.spars.co.uk

Hope this helps.
 
Selden said contact the local dealer but there's been no response so far and therefore i decided to bodge a safety fix in the short term.
2014-07-22 15.33.59.jpg

as the outhaul is on a different ring and was designed to accommodate he topping lift (I have a boom kicker) there is now a loop of dyneema through the top ring down to the bottom ring and through the shackle for the mainsheet. if the fractured ring does give way, at least the boom will be held omto the mainsheet by the dyneema which I am assured has some enormous breaking strain despite the knots in it.

any thoughts on my stainless (or aluminimum) strap and epoxy fix?
 
Had the same happen to my identical boom on a Rival 32 on passage a few years back...hasty intake of breath followed by application of several miles of twine. Clearly the 'spot-weld' you mention (although it looks rather more than that) indicates it's happened before. If unable to find a replacement, the only option is to have it welded again, then machined. Not a difficult job for someone who knows what he's doing, but not a quick-fix, either.

I eventually replaced mine with a complete new Z-spars boom, which wasn't all that expensive (and allowed me to put reefing lines and outhaul inside the boom). Z-spars are quite close to you in Hadleigh, Ipswich.
 
Atlantic spars went bust in the last year so you wont get much joy there, If your not round boom furling any more i would just get a big spinnaker pad eye and tap it into the alloy underneath. Or better still take the end casting off and make a slot so you can secure it on the inside of the extrusion
 
Sent in a question to the PBO ask the experts. Sensible suggestion came back from the Editor. Either use the epoxy fit but drill and tap a hole each end for the amuminium strap and machine screw the strap for extra security, or (and why didn't I think of this?) if the end cap won't unscrew and come off, take the whole boom along to the welder and get it done while I wait!

Anyone ever used JB Weld?
 
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