Broken boom end - any ideas??

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Rigger

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Arrived at boat yesterday to find the boom down onto the spray hood as a result of the topping lift failing,thankfully the only casualty from the recent gale! Normally the topping lift and the main halyard are attached to the end of the boom but the alloy fitting is broken. Not quite sure what to do about it ,options seem

1) try to find replacement boom end (difficult as boom is 20 yrs old made by Proctor who no longer exist I think)

2) try to fit alternative fitting for topping lift or repair existing fitting or

3) Do away with topping lift and fit rigid vang (expensive I guess)



boom-end.jpg


Anyone got any bright ideas/suggestions??
 
It's probably possible to buy a proper replacement fitting from the original spar manufacturers for a pukka job.
If 'twere mine, I would consider drilling & tapping [or self tappers] both sides and bending a stainless steel strap to make a loop. But then I quite like bodging:)
If the top bit has broken the mainsheet fitting bit must be suspect.
 
Rough up the dark grey material, glue on some shuttering, fill with Epoxy glue, thickened. Once set, drill a hole and fit a bushing, say a 10 mm copper pipe, epoxy into hole. Reuse as before.

Okay, that's the idea, just work out the details like a release agent for the shuttering, the depth of the bush for the topping lift shackle. UV stabilised Epoxy and colour additives to look like dark grey.

I would use a Dremil to shape the Epoxy to a good fit after it had set.

Good luck.
 
Thanks all for those ideas,the epoxy "bodge" may be an option! I will contact selden next week. The main halyard is attached simply to stop it frapping,-obviously lots of alternatives for that. The mainsheet attachment is far beefier so I think that is ok but take the point it may be suspect.
 
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Agreed the stainless strap screwed or bolted would be fine. The topping lip only holds the boom clear of the cabin roof, and so will not affect sailing performance
 
I had exactly this problem with previous boat in the Med where getting a replacement was not going to happen. So bought a 12mm ss threaded bar (a bolt would be fine) and a couple of nuts and washers as well as a ss ring. Made a stainless steel strap from a un-used rope hook in the stern locker by cutting to length and drilling a 12mm hole in each end. Strap would have been about 20mm wide. Bent it over the top of the boom end after having drilled a 12mm hole through and secured with the threaded bar and nuts either side having threaded the strap through the ring. Topping lift secured by its snap shackled to the ring.

It remained in place for 14 years before selling boat and is probably still in place now.

If my description is not clear PM me with phone number and I'll call and discuss.
 
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oldfatgit said:
I had exactly this problem with previous boat in the Med where getting a replacement was not going to happen. So bought a 12mm ss threaded bar (a bolt would be fine) and a couple of nuts and washers as well as a ss ring. Made a stainless steel strap from a un-used rope hook in the stern locker by cutting to length and drilling a 12mm hole in each end. Strap would have been about 20mm wide. Bent it over the top of the boom end after having drilled a 12mm hole through and secured with the threaded bar and nuts either side having threaded the strap through the ring. Topping lift secured by its snap shackled to the ring.

It remained in place for 14 years before selling boat and is probably still in place now.

If my description is not clear PM me with phone number and I'll call and discuss.
Click to expand...

That sounds a distinct possibility!
 
The strap method sounds good. When my Kemp boom fitting broke Selden did not make it any more I got a new one cast. The aluminum alloy that it was originally made from was called S.H.I.T. If you go down the welding route to repair maybe a good idea to warn the welder.
 
Think you will be very lucky if you find a replacement, Selden will not have one however may point you in the right direction. Welding is not possible as the casting will just blow away. Fitting a strap is the best option, just buy a heavy duty eye that can be fitted with 2 x 1/4 rivets and this will work well, you may want to remove whats left of the fitting to make it tidy. Hope this helps.
 
merlin3688 said:
<snip> Welding is not possible as the casting will just blow away. <snip>
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Pardon me while I stop laughing and mop up the spilt coffee.

O.K. Welding IS possible with the correct technique and filler material. I speak from personal experience of having repaired several cast aluminium goose necks, boom ends and mast ends/deck plates over the years.
Any decent Aluminium fabricator should be capable of repairing the OP's boom end without the casting "blowing away". The fitting can then be re-anodised for next to nothing.
 
Your best solution that I can see is to do away with the topping lift and fit a Barton Boom Strut - excellent piece of kit, nothing to go wrong with it, much cheaper than all the fancy expensive spring/hydraulic versions and reasonably priced. And it helps with slab reefing as it raises the boom when the kicking strap is released.
One of the best pieces of kit I've bought in years!
 
cliff said:
Pardon me while I stop laughing and mop up the spilt coffee.

O.K. Welding IS possible with the correct technique and filler material. I speak from personal experience of having repaired several cast aluminium goose necks, boom ends and mast ends/deck plates over the years.
Any decent Aluminium fabricator should be capable of repairing the OP's boom end without the casting "blowing away". The fitting can then be re-anodised for next to nothing.
Click to expand...

I also have many years of repairing/welding damaged deck plates, boom ends etc but feel that to try and weld this will be a step to far, not sure if the part broken away is still available but if not even harder to repair. If it can be done you mention anodising, this again can be a problem as all parts that are not aluminium need removing, anything old like this tends to have the s/s corroded in and you can cause more problems trying to remove pins/sheaves, if you are lucky and remove them anodising is not cheap, we used to use a company who had a min charge! Still (in my opinion) believe that the best and cheapest option is to fit a strap unless of course you can find a replacement.
 
I think your choice of repair method will depend on how dependant you are on the topping lift. Apart from setting the height of the boom when "parking", it supports the boom when reefing and can be used to induce fullness in the main in light breezes - some even use it to scandalize the main. Most of these functions can be performed with a rigid/sprung kicker although I still use the topping lift to stop the boom bouncing when moored.

Either a strap or cross drilling to fit a pin or bolt should be strong enough to support the weight of the boom. I would only wonder whether shock loading would find another weakness in the remainder of the casting, though - but no more reason to expect this than before it broke.

Rob.
 
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