Is a Repaired Boom Sound for Long Term Cruising?

[millhouse_44]

Hi I am in the closing stages of buying a Catamaran and the owner has just informed me that the boom has undergone a major repair at some point in the past. See attached pictures.

The vessel has been on a long-range cruise for about 8 months now and the owner claims there are no problems. I will of course get the boat surveyed before making the final payment but I'm wondering if anyone has any experience in this area or can tell me if this is something that I should really be concerned about?

Also, if anyone knows what it might cost to replace the boom (roughly) that might help as well.

Thank you!!

millhouse_44

[monte]

Looks like a really dodgy repair! To me it seems the repair patch has moved/bent sonce being fitted, causing distortion and paint flaking. i.e. it didn't work the way it was supposed to. It looks like someone put a flat bandaid on the horizontal which is going to do nothing for lateral strength. Id plan on replacing it or at least having it professionally repaired

[millhouse_44]

Ya I kind of agree. On the port side it looks like the band aid is peeling back on the top. Any idea what a new boom might cost?


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[ontno1]

While on an offshore passage, my boom broke at the point where the vang was attached. Twelve machine bolts held the vang attachment plate to the boom and made a week spot. The cost and logistics of shipping a new boom made replacement an impossibility, so I opted for repair. The welder inserted a sleeve to bridge the two broken sections and welded them back. The repair lasted another 1500 miles before I noticed hairline cracks along the welds. We clamped a whisker pole to the boom, double reefed the main and cautiously sailed the last 900 miles.

By all means, replace it and save your self lots of trouble. I found a near new used boom and had it refitted and installed for less than $2000USD.

[neilpride]

One more bad boom gybe and boom game over, seriously, welding a patch ?? We use long sleeves , but never a thick alu patch Weld it,with that you créate a hard spot ,, a new boom is not expensive if you can save the blocks gear etc...- just my 2 cents...

[HappyMdRSailor]

Welding a cross section of boom or mast is a big "no-no"... The weld transition zone goes from "uber hard" at the weld fill material, to soft at the transition, to parent material strength away from the weld...

You need a new boom... Find an average list price in your area, deduct it straight off the top in your offer, and hopefully make enough to replace it...

[millhouse_44]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I think the biggest concern is that this information was sent to me along with the signed offer sheet, which makes me think this is just the beginning of the issues I'm about to discover in survey. Unfortunately I have to spend about 5K just to meet the boat and get the survey done. Plus another 5K to have the vessel delivered and only THEN do the repairs begin. Might be time to run for the hills!!

[JPA Cate]

You were asking about costs. Four years ago, we had our boom repaired in Tasmania. At the time, the rigger offered us a new 6 m. Selden boom for $7,000 AU. Our repair was accomplished with sleeving both inside and out. I think it's stronger by far than when new.

Ann

[Cheechako]

I cant tell as I cant blow up the pics to see much detail. many parts of fabricated spars are welded and not reheat treated (due to size!) It's possible the repair is stronger than the original.... or not! The added attachment bar is a good idea...maybe..., as noted above, the fastener penetrations for a vang or mainsheet attachment on a boom often end up being the weak spot. he has eliminated those apparently. Does that bar go thru the boom? or just welded onto the bottom of the boom?
What size is the boat? It's possible the boom was underspecified in the first place... a lot of stress on a Cat... and that appears to be mid boom sheeting. maybe you could find a used bigger boom to go with. It appears to be not a very big cross section in the pics but hard to tell.

[millhouse_44]

Hi again. I contacted the owner for some more information and he provided these additional pictures. He actually chipped away some of the finishing with a knife in one of the photos.

It almost looks like the repair was glassed over but it is hard to tell. Being inexperienced I feel like I should just add 5K to the anticipated costs and replace the boom prior to launch. I definitely don't want to have to deal with a busted boom early on. The question I guess is do you guys think this is a 'show-stopper' for the sale if the guy won't negotiate? How hard do you think it would be to find a new or used boom in Australia at a reasonable cost?

The boat is a 37 foot Catamaran Fortuna Island Spirit.

One other question, the standing rigging all needs to be replaced. I was told 'approximately' 7500 bucks for that. Anyone have any experience with that? I'm budgeting about 35,000 in 'upgrades' when I get the boat. Just trying to see if that is reasonable. Boat is 1999 and rigging has never been replaced (that anyone is aware of).

Thanks again.

[millhouse_44]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I cant tell as I cant blow up the pics to see much detail. many parts of fabricated spars are welded and not reheat treated (due to size!) It's possible the repair is stronger than the original.... or not! The added attachment bar is a good idea...maybe..., as noted above, the fastener penetrations for a vang or mainsheet attachment on a boom often end up being the weak spot. he has eliminated those apparently. Does that bar go thru the boom? or just welded onto the bottom of the boom?
What size is the boat? It's possible the boom was underspecified in the first place... a lot of stress on a Cat... and that appears to be mid boom sheeting. maybe you could find a used bigger boom to go with. It appears to be not a very big cross section in the pics but hard to tell.

Thanks I posted some more pictures. I don't know the answer to your questions I have not seen the boat yet. Let me know if you can make anything out from the new pictures!!

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by millhouse_44

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I think the biggest concern is that this information was sent to me along with the signed offer sheet, which makes me think this is just the beginning of the issues I'm about to discover in survey. Unfortunately I have to spend about 5K just to meet the boat and get the survey done. Plus another 5K to have the vessel delivered and only THEN do the repairs begin. Might be time to run for the hills!!

This is a dodgy repair, and obviously it's "in your face" so to speak... No way to hide it... What worries me, is that your gut feeling is probably true... More "fund deficient cobbled repairs" .... 5K is a lot to blow on a gamble... I like red/black roulette odds better than this....

BUT... If your getting the boat for the right price, and overall with a refit, it seems worth it to you, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater... Just be sure you have a GOOD handle on what your refit/repairs should be... Multiply your $$ estimate by 1.5 minimum, and time by 2-3x

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

You were asking about costs. Four years ago, we had our boom repaired in Tasmania. At the time, the rigger offered us a new 6 m. Selden boom for $7,000 AU. Our repair was accomplished with sleeving both inside and out. I think it's stronger by far than when new.

Ann

This is the proper way to repair a boom... The only downside is the added mass when you get clobbered by it... But Ann is quick, and Jim has a thick noggin, so it works out great...

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I cant tell as I cant blow up the pics to see much detail. many parts of fabricated spars are welded and not reheat treated (due to size!) It's possible the repair is stronger than the original.... or not! The added attachment bar is a good idea...maybe..., as noted above, the fastener penetrations for a vang or mainsheet attachment on a boom often end up being the weak spot. he has eliminated those apparently. Does that bar go thru the boom? or just welded onto the bottom of the boom?
What size is the boat? It's possible the boom was underspecified in the first place... a lot of stress on a Cat... and that appears to be mid boom sheeting. maybe you could find a used bigger boom to go with. It appears to be not a very big cross section in the pics but hard to tell.

Lots 'O questions... Could be pretty strong if done right huh cheech? My major concern is a "crap looking" repair is usually pretty spot on of indicating a "crap reliable" repair...

Originally Posted by millhouse_44

Hi again. I contacted the owner for some more information and he provided these additional pictures. He actually chipped away some of the finishing with a knife in one of the photos.

It almost looks like the repair was glassed over but it is hard to tell. Being inexperienced I feel like I should just add 5K to the anticipated costs and replace the boom prior to launch. I definitely don't want to have to deal with a busted boom early on. The question I guess is do you guys think this is a 'show-stopper' for the sale if the guy won't negotiate? How hard do you think it would be to find a new or used boom in Australia at a reasonable cost?

The boat is a 37 foot Catamaran Fortuna Island Spirit.

One other question, the standing rigging all needs to be replaced. I was told 'approximately' 7500 bucks for that. Anyone have any experience with that? I'm budgeting about 35,000 in 'upgrades' when I get the boat. Just trying to see if that is reasonable. Boat is 1999 and rigging has never been replaced (that anyone is aware of).

Thanks again.

Looks faired with filler right over unprepped weld to me... Not even the cosmetic portion of the repair was done right...

As Ann said... You should be able to find a boom pretty reasonable... , there are 10's of thousands that would do the job, not necessarily one built for your boat... MAKE SURE it's stout, and able to handle your mid boom sheeting setup...

This had better be a reasonably priced boat... You're already at 15k of your proposed 35k update $$, and that's not including the 10K you figure for inspecting and moving...

[Cheechako]

It just looks like typical aluminum welding to me. Not the best I've seen, but one thing I learned managing an aluminum boat shop is you can tell how good a weld is by how pretty it is. The paint is deteriorating typical of painted spars. I would budget a new boom but wouldn't panic to do it right away. If I replaced that boom I would go with a bigger cross section.

[JPA Cate]

FWIW,

You might want to check with a rigger relative to the cost of re-rigging....I'm thinking it may run a lot more. Last time we had the mast out, we discovered cracks at the spreader bases which required welding up. *Stuff* adds to anticipated costs.

Ann

[Ex-Calif]

I keep coming back to this thread because what has been bothering me is, "What is it they tried to fix?"

I could not see obvious signs of a spar failure indicating the need for sleeving the boom as others pointed out - so why didn't they sleeve the boom?

And why does the sheeting attachment fitting also look like a bodge?

Finding boom shots of this model is a bit difficult but the sheeting is completely different on this boat compared to photos I am finding. In the photos, you can see what arguably appears to be pretty weak "butt" welded sheeting lugs. But there are two of them probablby to distribute boom loads and the sheet runs forward, down the mast to the deck.

So is this a repair of the sheeting lugs? It would explain a lot. Those cheek doublers would not be to hold the spar together, but maybe doublers the repairer thought would distribute the load better once the second attach point was done away with.

Not all of these photos are the 37 but I don't see (from long shots) anything that looks like the setup on the OPs prospective boat.

The repair is "bodgy", definitely not stock but until I saw it up close I would definitely reserve judgment on whether it needs to be replaced.

Certainly replacing would be preferable but I am not sure the original "butt" welded tangs are any better for long term use.