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while on a recent charter i unfortunately was hit by the boom during an accidental gybe (wind shift). though i wasn''t hurt at all, luckily, i was wondering if it was my fault for being in the position to be hit by the boom or would the helmsman be at fault for not paying attention to the wind/sails or is it a fault of both?
I would say it was not no ones fault. A small wind shift will send the boom over. I always make sure I watch my head and its height in relation to the boom when running where an accidental gybe could happen.
If your looking for some one to blame yourself it saves others a lot of trouble.
If your looking to correct the problem of getting smacked up side the head with the boom you also need the mirror. Sail boats have a whole set of hazards that only you can protect yourself from the boom is just one of them. If you regularly put yourself in harms way on a sailboat you will get harmed and no amount of skill on the helm will save you.
(Just noticing the charter) I will add that the captian had some responsibilty to tell you about the danger from the boom and should have reminded everyone on board when the boat started running before the wind. If you were not told to keep your head low then the captain bears some responsibility. I regularly sail with novices (not chartering just for fun) and the first things I tell them are "nothing plastic in the head" and "watch out for the boom."
Yikes, I know it''s dangerous, but an ounce of prevention... That''s why it''s called a Preventer.
Whenever running before the wind I ALWAYS rig a preventer when cruising and there will be people about the boat between the mast and the traveler. Accedental gybes happen, especially in following seas.
It''s a bit lazy to not rig one, so I would blame your charter''s crew for their lack of attention to detail.
It is always a good practice to cover your own ass!! Expecting someone else to warn you of dangers gives them control over your life. It is always better to be in control of your own fate, finding someone else at fault has no effect on your injuries. When I am at the helm I try to warn anyone that''s in harms way but when I am in harms way I don''t expect to be warned. Intentionally or otherwise my wife has almost hit me with the boom several times. But by luck or skill I have always managed to avoid being hit. It is foolish to stand/sit in such a way that being struck by the boom is possible.
The boom got its name from the internal sound of impact as it kisses ones noggin. Of course you were stupid and reckless to allow this to happen but as others have discovered, this repetitive impact softens our gray matter to a point where we continue to buy boats that are 2-4 feet larger than the one previously owned, no other rational excuse could explain the Phenomenon!
My 2 cents: sounds like a large enough boat (unlike a sunfish, say) whereby you dont need to be standing in a spot where you are going to get hit by the boom.
Peter 428: The next time you go sailing you have the experience to tell the captain to rig a preventor. Silmaril is correct. When running it''s silly not to rig a preventor. It''s simple and can save you a headache.
Tauras
You never know what to expect in one of these threads. You certainly have gotten a wide range of viewpoints here but in thinking about the reality of rigging a preventer on a charter boat it would seem pretty unlikely to find the resources aboard to rig one in a manner that would not endanger the boat.
Properly rigged a preventer needs to be quick and easy to release from the cockpit and the line should be long enough to permit the boom to cross the boat to the other jibe. It should be a nylon rather than a dacron line, and should ideally be attached near the near the end of the boom and lead to a block near the bow. Generally that means a line that is twice the length of the boat rigged (or at least capable of being rigged) on either side of the boat.
Having been aboard boats where the boat jibed and broached, leaving the boom held by the preventer abeam on the new windward side of the boat, or where we dipped a boom held by a preventer and tore the gooseneck apart, perventers need to be stretchy and quick to release. Anything else, endangers the vessel and the crew far more than not rigging a preventer.
The reality is that the line and the blocks to properly rig a preventer simply will not be aboard most charter boats. So what should you do if you can''t rig a preventer.
-Don''t head dead downwind if you don''t have to. Reaching is generally faster,offers a better VMG and a lesser chance of a jibe.
-At deep reaching and running angles, pay attention to the boom and mainsheet and always move around or sit in a matter that assumes that the boat could jibe at anytime. As you walk up the deck, keep an eye on the boom, be prepared to duck, as you get near the boom place your hand on it as a way to guage your position relative to the boom and its likeliness of moving towards you.
-As helmsman, you need to really concentrate and while accidental jibes will happen to the best sailor, staying alert at least means that the helmsman can shout a warning. As helmsmen you need to take a mental inventory of where everyone on the boat is located. You are usually in the best position to see who is at risk and it is not inappropriate to say, "Peter, we are on the edge of a jibe so please stay low as you move about the boat and keep an eye on the boom." (I wish I have had a penny for everytime that I have said something like that in my sailing career. I could buy a newer boat for that kind of cash.)
I would not assign fault here. There are things that you both could have done to minimize the likelihood that you might have gotten hit by the boom.
I don''t really have any experience with them. In theory I like the idea although I can''t quite visualize the geometry of the lines run to one so that they can actually work.
I''ve never chartered, just lucky, I guess, so I would not know the level of equipment on board to expect. But my preventer is pretty straight forward. I use a line with a snap shackle with long trip lanyard that attaches to the mid-point of my boom, near where the hydraulic vang is attached. I then have a snatch block on the rail near the chainplates, perforated toerail makes it easy, I have no toerail, only track to the shrouds, so a padeye car is used. The tail is led back to the cockpit to an unused winch, usually one of my secondaries, near the reach of the helmsman. When a gybe is completed, the snatch block is moved to the new lee rail, and the preventer is snugged in.
When on a new boat for the first time, I always take a look around at the deck and rig. How long is the boom? Is it a "Deck Sweeper" when trimmed? Where are the "Safe Zones" that are out of harms way on deck.
My IOR design has a short 14'' boom. It uses end-boom sheeting. But being a race boat, when trimmed, the boom is of the "Deck Sweeper" variety, as in no one is safe during a gybe! I have a couple of lines marked on my deck going out to the rail from the traveler. When someone new is on the boat and not familiar with the subtleties of getting their head "softened", I tell them that the best place is behind the lines.
Heck, as an IOR design, I need as much afterguard in the stern when running as I can get.
FWIW our experience with a home made boom brake has all been positive. It is not a preventer, but it slows the boom and can even bring it to an easy stop by hand tensioning the slack line. It serves a vang function beyond the end of the traveler without loading up the gooseneck fitting. Its reason for being was to prevent the possibility of the boom lifting and fouling the backstay since we don''t have a boom vang.
To jibe in significent winds we sheet to centerline then ease out with the brake at a faster rate than is convenient by tailing the mainsheet. This prevents loading up the helm and the running mainsheet(4:1)doesn''t burn the hands.
The symmetrically rigged control line runs forward from the cleat at the cockpit, to a block on the rail about 2-feet abaft the shroud, over the brake''s drum (4-inch dia.) with one or two turns on the drum then out to the other rail to a cleat aft. One turn on the drum doesn''t inhibit tacking in light air. The boom brake is attached to the boom 5-feet abaft the mast. This has been adequate for a 283-sq.ft. main on a 14-foot boom.
The brake''s construction in aluminum was simple and straight forward. It''s a basic model without the tensioning ''bells and whistles'' found on the purchased item. I''d be happy to detail its fabrication to any one interested.
I wholeheatedly agree that on a cruising sailboat, particularly with inexperienced passengers, there is rarely any good reason to sail dead downwind or to not have a good preventer rigged. Here is a simple rig involving minimum rope and hardware: Dead end a line a the aft end of the boom long enough to reach the shrouds with a quick disconnect fitting at the forward end and a bail on the boom to store it. Run another line with the same fitting from the point at the shrouds through a swivel block at the bows and back to the cockpit. To set it up, sheet the main in to where a man can reach through the shrouds and connect the two lines. Before you jibe, come up on the wind, sheet in, disconnect, restow the line on the boom, jibe, take the same end of the preventer to the new lee shrouds, and reconnect. The hauling end does not have to change sides.
Waves roll a boat from side to side. IMHO, gravity is more likely to start the boom moving on its downward slide, thru the eye of a following wind, and then "whacko!". At night, specially when cruising, I drop the main (hate night time drops and changes), lose some speed (but surprisingly little) and leave it at that.
George,
Would you send me a detail on the boom brake drum you use on your boom?
I just tried to rig a climber's rappelling "figure 8" to the boom of my Catalina 380. But I have not sailed with it yet. Any comments on the usefulness and safety of my rig?
Just reminds/reinforces my decision some time ago that in addition to the pfd's that everyone on my boat must wear always, a bicycle safety helmut must be on my head whenever I'm out solo and the wind velocity is greater than light.
My boom is high enough that a boom+head collision is impossible for me or a passenger in the cockpit, unless standing full up on the seats.
Unless he/she is an experienced sailor, passengers aren't allowed out of the cockpit onto the upper deck without me first accessing fully the risk in relation to wind velocity, heel, and the point of sail. But when soloing, I'll sometimes turn on the auto pilot for a moment or two to do something at the mast or forward. Never when running with the wind however. Having a helmut on is added insurance that if I miscalculate or become inattentive, its unlikely that I'll ever be knocked unconcious.
There's no point in assigning fault, just think about prevention for the future.
After some 45 years of sailing, a couple of years ago I woke up on a cockpit floor after being knocked out for 10 or 15 minutes. Several reasons for it (though I don't remember the actual event), but none worth assigning blame, especially to anyone else.
Just be careful out there, and keep in mind that when you jiffy-reef the boom, the boom end might be a bit lower than you're used to with the full main, and you might find this out the hard way.
Of the three, the Scott boom lock is the most expensive, the Wichard is the least adjustable, and IMHO, the Dutchman is the one that makes the most sense to purchase and install.
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