Boom Brake vs Preventer

[Amnesia II]

Originally Posted by Capt. Don

Has anyone here ever tried the capt. Don boom brake?

I sure have...and here it is 6 months after installing! Nice eh?


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[Capt. Don]

Ouch, that looks bad. Can you take it down and rub the surface rust off with a Scotch bright pad then wax it. If that does not work then I will replace it.
Please contact me at sales@dreamgreen.org
Thanks
Don

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by SimonV

+1 on the Dutchman boom break. I too would never own a boat without one. By having the control lines as far forward as possible , mine are on the rail short of the mast it makes a great preventer and if things go belly up it allows the jibe but controlled.

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Yes, the Dutchman Boom Brake is great, it also can be a preventer if you want.
Slides the boom across, safely in a Gybe and allows freedom for single handing.
That's important.


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[roverhi]

[groundtackle]

My cal 2-46 came with a Dutchman break but not installed
While I've been focused on other aspects of a major refit I have not given much thought to installing it beyond thinking I would like to. Can anyone provide details or tips in installation?
Thanks


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[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by nshawdvm

My cal 2-46 came with a Dutchman break but not installed
While I've been focused on other aspects of a major refit I have not given much thought to installing it beyond thinking I would like to. Can anyone provide details or tips in installation?
Thanks


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It's pretty simple. Just make sure your deck attachments are over kill. Here's the instruction manual>>>>.
http://dutchmar.com/wp-content/uploa...3/10/BB_om.pdf

[groundtackle]

That's very helpful
Thanks
Nick


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[Boatyarddog]

Had no issues installing mine, attached it to the mast hound between the vang boom bail, and the Mast base.
Brake line attached to port side chain plate, and starboard chain plate, led to cleat by small blocks, attached to the stanchions bases, led to cockpit.


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[charliehows]

my boom brake is based on the wichard/gybe easy style - i had to experiment with a number of different sizes of rope before settling on 8mm which is probably because my unit is home made - I'd hope the pro manufactured ones allow a bit heavier rope - because my boat is small, has a ketch rig hence quite a small main, the 8mm seems to be more than adequate but I think i'd want a bit bigger diameter on a bigger rig...

[Hogan]

My boom brake cost about $14, along with some spare line, a couple of shackles and a turning block - here's how I rigged it up on my Catalina 30 -

The main component is a Black Diamond figure 8 rappelling device. It's aluminum, and rated for over 3000 lbs working load. I rig it in line with the boomvang, above it, and lead the friction line through it down to a traveler car mounted all the way forward on my Genoa track to starboard, and to a turning block on the port Genoa track, back through a deck block to a cockpit clutch and cabin top winch.

The initial lead is slightly forward of the brake, allowing it act as a soft preventer - under high tension it basically locks the boom in place, you ease the tension to predetermined points to Gybe in various wind speeds.

There are many advantages and a few disadvantage to this system -

Pros:

Cheap

Simple

Acts as brake and/or preventer based on line tension

Easy to Gybe single handed - main is self tending if properly tensioned.

Cons:

One more line in cockpit

Tripping hazard when going to the mast presented by port and starboard friction lines.


Properly rigged and managed, the friction line and associated fittings see no shock loading, only tension loading and friction.

The main advantage is that once set, the system is fail-safe - it won't allow a Gybe until you are deep by-the-lee, and when the boom comes around it does so slowly and smoothly.

It is much safer than a hard preventer, because it can't break the boom or tear out fittings if the boom hits the water, and in a round-DOWN (broach to leeward) the boom and main will Gybe rather than pinning the hull down broadside to the sea, risking down flooding and sinking in the bargain.

Anyone running hard preventers better be prepared to quickly release them in a leeward broach, or cut the line quickly.

I always dreaded running and gybing single handed until I rigged up this system on my Flicka 20.

Afterwards, it became an absolute blast in strong winds and big seas - if my destination was dead downwind, I would simply broad reach on alternating tacks, essentially slaloming downwind.

Less chance of an accidental gybe with the wind on the quarter, safer surfing down big seas, less chance of broaching, and similar if not better VMG. Again, if you do manage to get it sideways and Gybe, you'll have much less main sheet out than running, along with tension on the friction line.

I sailed that Flicka 1000 miles from LA La Paz in 2012, the boom brake worked flawlessly as a preventer - the trip was mostly a starboard tack broad reach.

As always, you should reef the main at the appropriate wind speed for your boat, and strike it altogether and broad reach under reefed Genoa or jib if things really pipe up.

As mentioned by others, this set-up in combination with a topping lift also dampens movement and stabilizes the boom with the main furled.


Gybing is all about managing energy, sailing about getting your boat in harmony with the wind and sea. This means carrying the right amount of sail first, and managing it second.

I see far too many boats sailing around Santa Monica bay on their ears when the wind picks up because the skippers either don't know how or are too lazy to reef.

It's tempting but dangerous to carry too much sail downwind, especially short-handed. It's very difficult to reef an overloaded main off the wind, and heading up exposes the rig to the true wind speed plus your velocity.


Point is, managing a sailboat off the wind involves many things. A simple, reliable boom brake is a great addition, just don't neglect basic seamanship because it's suddenly so easy to gybe, or eventually you'll paint yourself into an ugly corner!


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[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Hogan

My boom brake cost about $14, along with some spare line, a couple of shackles and a turning block - here's how I rigged it up on my Catalina 30 -

The main component is a Black Diamond figure 8 rappelling device. It's aluminum, and rated for over 3000 lbs working load. I rig it in line with the boomvang, above it, and lead the friction line through it down to a traveler car mounted all the way forward on my Genoa track to starboard, and to a turning block on the port Genoa track, back through a deck block to a cockpit clutch and cabin top winch.

The initial lead is slightly forward of the brake, allowing it act as a soft preventer - under high tension it basically locks the boom in place, you ease the tension to predetermined points to Gybe in various wind speeds.

There are many advantages and a few disadvantage to this system -

Pros:

Cheap

Simple

Acts as brake and/or preventer based on line tension

Easy to Gybe single handed - main is self tending if properly tensioned.

Cons:

One more line in cockpit

Tripping hazard when going to the mast presented by port and starboard friction lines.


Properly rigged and managed, the friction line and associated fittings see no shock loading, only tension loading and friction.

The main advantage is that once set, the system is fail-safe - it won't allow a Gybe until you are deep by-the-lee, and when the boom comes around it does so slowly and smoothly.

It is much safer than a hard preventer, because it can't break the boom or tear out fittings if the boom hits the water, and in a round-DOWN (broach to leeward) the boom and main will Gybe rather than pinning the hull down broadside to the sea, risking down flooding and sinking in the bargain.

Anyone running hard preventers better be prepared to quickly release them in a leeward broach, or cut the line quickly.

I always dreaded running and gybing single handed until I rigged up this system on my Flicka 20.

Afterwards, it became an absolute blast in strong winds and big seas - if my destination was dead downwind, I would simply broad reach on alternating tacks, essentially slaloming downwind.

Less chance of an accidental gybe with the wind on the quarter, safer surfing down big seas, less chance of broaching, and similar if not better VMG. Again, if you do manage to get it sideways and Gybe, you'll have much less main sheet out than running, along with tension on the friction line.

I sailed that Flicka 1000 miles from LA La Paz in 2012, the boom brake worked flawlessly as a preventer - the trip was mostly a starboard tack broad reach.

As always, you should reef the main at the appropriate wind speed for your boat, and strike it altogether and broad reach under reefed Genoa or jib if things really pipe up.

As mentioned by others, this set-up in combination with a topping lift also dampens movement and stabilizes the boom with the main furled.


Gybing is all about managing energy, sailing about getting your boat in harmony with the wind and sea. This means carrying the right amount of sail first, and managing it second.

I see far too many boats sailing around Santa Monica bay on their ears when the wind picks up because the skippers either don't know how or are too lazy to reef.

It's tempting but dangerous to carry too much sail downwind, especially short-handed. It's very difficult to reef an overloaded main off the wind, and heading up exposes the rig to the true wind speed plus your velocity.


Point is, managing a sailboat off the wind involves many things. A simple, reliable boom brake is a great addition, just don't neglect basic seamanship because it's suddenly so easy to gybe, or eventually you'll paint yourself into an ugly corner!


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Point is, managing a sailboat off the wind involves many things. A simple, reliable boom brake is a great addition, just don't neglect basic seamanship because it's suddenly so easy to gybe, or eventually you'll paint yourself into a corner.



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[SimonV]

I am all for keeping things cheap and cheerful, but a boom break is safety equipment and that I don't mind paying for. Also a boom on a 40 footer is different from a 26 footer.

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[Hogan]

True that...much higher loads on a bigger boat carrying more sail.

Still, the goal is the same - control / prevent boom movement, so the same principals apply, but you are contending with higher loads, so your hardware must be scaled up accordingly.

Commercial solutions certainly are available, and all things considered are relatively cheap, it's just that I'm cheaper. The $300 dollars I saved can fix my broken macerator and screwed up head.

Whichever way you go, I think some sort of boom control strategy is critical for safety at sea, at least on a cruising or pleasure boat. Active control is good, passive / automatic better yet.


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