boom

[tonyg]

I am making some alterations to a gaff-rigged cutter and quite fancy going back to the original boomless main. Is there any great disadvantage in doing this? It would be nice to avoid the worry of self-inflicted brain surgery on self and passengers.
Tonyg.

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[johnsomerhausen]

Running before thje wind, a boomless mains´l wouldn´t be very effective
john

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[William_H]

The advantages of a boom are that you can control the amopunt of pull in the aft direction on the sail hence you can flatten the sail and reduce camber in a strong wind. similarly with a boom vang or traveller system usually both combined you caqn provide a down pull on the sail to both flatten the sail and bring the top portion up to windwardrather than have it sag off to leeward. thyis is especially noticeable when you free the sail when sailing off the wind. When hard on the wind providing the sheeting position is correct on the boat you should be able to get an approximation of well shaped sail albeit without much chance of adjusting the camber for stronger winds.
You might want to see if you can adjust the sheeting position both athwartships usually on a wire strop and if possible the position toward the mast fore and aft although I have never seen it done.Yes there are advantages to a loose footed or boomless main but I reckon if you really love sailing well you will end up with a boom. I aqm a great fan of the modern fractional rig with aluminium mast and I reckon all that weight of gaff up top is crazy but I accept you are striving for the old style. regards will

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