Opinions on Self Tacking Jib Booms?

[wingssail]

Carol Hasse wrote a famous piece about these staysail booms:

"A clubfooted staysail has its foot secured to a boom. Its foot may be attached to the boom (or club) with slides or lacing, but more commonly it’s loose-footed (attached to the club only at its tack and clew) to facilitate trimming. While a club-footed staysail’s self-tending ability is very useful when short tacking in winds over 15 knots, it has many disadvantages. For coastwise or bluewater cruising, I share yacht designer Bill Crealock’s sentiments about boomed staysails: “The first splash you’ll hear when you’re offshore is that of the club being thrown overboard.”

One of the main reasons I don’t like clubs on staysails is that they can become a crippling or lethal weapon during an accidental jibe or if a sheet parts or is let go when crew are working the foredeck. Clubs dominate the area forward of the mast, interfering with anchoring, making sail changes, keeping bow watch, storing a dinghy, or simply lounging.

When the staysail sheet is eased for a reach or a run, the boom lifts, opening the leech and allowing the forces in the head of the sail to round the boat up and induce rolling. A vang, preferably led to the cockpit, will prevent this, but it isn’t commonly rigged. As the wind increases, the staysail club also needs a preventer, although it’s difficult to find the necessary leverage point forward of the staysail stay to lead a preventer that will keep the sail from jibing. You should run both port and starboard leads for the preventer to the cockpit in case the staysail is caught aback or its boom is dipping into seas when the boat is rolling. Back-winding the staysail when coming about in order to speed up or ensure a new tack or when heaving to also becomes a problem with a self-tending, club-footed stays’l. You’ll have to go forward and secure the boom to windward or use a preventer led aft to hold the staysail aback. Exposed to deck wash and high winds, the staysail boom could also be a liability when you’re forced to work to weather with a storm staysail in extreme conditions.A staysail designed for a boom may be freed from its club and sheeted instead to staysail sheeting tracks retro-fitted to the cabin top or deck, as I’ve already described. This track is generally necessary for sheeting a storm staysail anyway. Unless a vessel is over 60 feet and single masted, it’s really quite easy to tack a staysail that isn’t self-tending. In fact, it can aid in staying on the new tack when coming about if you keep it back-winded while you sheet the jib or genoa home."

[ArmySailor]

Wingsail nailed it with that article, it was what I read also before ditching mine. I gave away the boom and removed the tack point on deck. Never looked back.

I drive Shannon 28...use the stays'l about 25% of the time I sail, depending on conditions and point of sail. It's still a very useful sail to use despite not being on a boom at all. Well worth the trade-off.