5 yr old carbon vs new alloy booms. Which would you choose?

[Barnett]

Mike, I would guess that you are a much more advanced sailor than I am. For me, whether or not I make a jibe depends on doing every little thing right. When I flip the sail, I find its axis of rotation is much better if I first slide my front hand to the extreme front of the boom adjacent to the mast before throwing the clew. This is what I found difficult with the North "new shape" booms.

Has anybody here had experience with the Pro1 alloy booms and larger sail sizes, up to about 7.2m? (My largest sail is an Aerotech 7.2m). Many seem to feel that the carbon/alloy difference in stiffness is more significant with larger sails, which makes sense. I don't sail enough in New England with my larger boom that I think metal fatigue would be a big issue for me as I live fairly far from the cape and only make it down maybe a half dozen days/season...my last boom lasted years.

If the pro1 would stay stiff and work well with a 7.2m and if the shape would work for me, I'll pick one up from a local shop next time I hit the cape (I don't want them to go under like the other cape sail shops because of me trying to save $10-20 online!!!)

[dllee]

Of course, technique is the key.
OTOH, with good technique, you can jibe any shaped boom.
You need good technique just to jibe.
So stands to reason, you can jibe any boom!

[Barnett]

A follow-up on this....

I purchased a Chinook Pro1 Alloy boom new and am very happy with it. It rigs easily, is quite stiff, will handle pretty much all of my sails, and I am making more of my jibes than ever.

I did not find the "new shape" a problem with this boom, as I did with the North booms. My opinion- the North booms are quite radically shaped with a very square front end, so it is awkward to get your hand to the front of the boom and it leaves your wrist in a bad position to maneuver the flip. The Chinook is a much more gentle curve and I find the position to be no problem.

Whereas I agree that, for the expert sailor, you can jibe any boom, as well as any board, sail, whatever...for us mere mortals who are still (eternally) struggling, every little bit helps.

Thanks, everybody, for your valuable input.