Boomkicker Question

[NewportNewbie]

I am thinking about getting a boomkicker for my boat. The one thing is that the boom on my boat rotates. Obviously if you put upward pressure on a rotating mast, it will probably rotate one way or another. One...I know the Schock 30 isn't the only boat to have a rotating boom. So what do I do about that? I would think that the boom rotating would be a good thing as it can help with sail shape, but with the boom being able to raise up more with the boom kicker that may be enough. Ideas?

[Faster]

First, I'm pretty certain you don't have a rotating mast... you should have a gooseneck fitting that allows the boom to pivot in two axes (side to side and up & down). If your boom truly 'rotates' then you may have an older left-over roller reefing setup that you'd be best to lock into place and use slab/jiffy reefing.

A boom kicker will try to support the weight of the boom in the up and down axis, and in conjunction with a powerful vang will allow you more options in controlling leech tension and twist regardless of traveler position. A boom kicker without a vang is not very useful.. in fact it's kinda dangerous.

The boom kicker should have a fitting on the mast near the deck that will rotate on the same point as the boom/gooseneck does, so there won't be any problematic 'rotational' force to worry about.

I'd think that the boomkicker site would have some decent drawings/illustrations to check out.