Do Booms typically brake?

[schralp]

Or, just sail clew first; that's what I do. It's a good workout and unless you've got miles to go, probably not a bad idea since you're usually done for the day.

[www.NjWind.info]

I already had a thought about the role of saltwater with aluminum, could be a reason too. I weigh about 150 and I land my jumps hard and soft, but I would consider myself an aggresive sailor. I just did not expect my boom to go bad at that point because it did not show any signs. I guess the solution to the problem is to exchange them every couple of years.

I just hope none of this will ever happen during a storm in the ocean. Also, the broken boom could have punched a hole into my sail. That day my boom ripped into pieces, there was another sailor in the bay with the same incident. However, he injured his elbow somehow and ended up bleeding quiet a bit. When I saw him come ashore with his pretty big flesh wound, I thought something more similiar to a shark attack happened.
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[shibumi57]

If you can afford it, (I'm not married and don't have children), get multiple booms. I have a carbon boom (Fiber Spar) for each sail. 5 sails, 5 carbon booms. My oldest Fiber Spar is 8 years old, but I only sail it on my 6.3. So, in theory it only gets 20% of the work each year. In reality, because I typically sail at the Delta, it gets less than 10% of the work. I've never had a boom break this way and they went through the normal Bay Area sailing abuse.

The 4.7 and 5.2 booms get worked very hard. Yesterday, Sunday July 27th, I sailed 6.3 for about 2 hours in the morning. Nice easy slalom sailing with little stress on the booms. I can hear the boom making a bit of noise though, which the other, newer booms don't. Of course, a swim in to shore at the Delta is much different than a 2-3 mile swim at 3rd avenue would be.

[likesitwindy]

Everything will break with time and use ...yet the carbon on the boom breaks and does not (usually) completely separate ....so you have a soft boom that still can get you back in to shore...aluminum is either good or separated ...so you can see that it is another reason to buy a carbon boom ...sadly they are expensive ...a used carbon boom is WAY better than a new aluminum boom ! I have never been fully stranded on a broken carbon boom and have broken a few with lots of use ...also can buy the new parts and fix them ...so you do not have to fully replace it !!!

[www.NjWind.info]

Thanks everyone, with that in mind I will listen to your advice and be on the lookout.
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