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Crash jibe buffer

6K views 26 replies 19 participants last post by  arvicola-amphibius 
#1 ·
I help deliver a 50' boat a couple weekends ago. We sailed all night on a run wing on wing. Wind was about 15 knots. Under those conditions I would usually rig a dock line from the boom to the rail as a preventer as it is really hard to see the sails in the dark.
There are some disadvantages having a preventor that can't be released easily too but still it seems the lessor to two evils if you don't have a real boom brake.

All he did was leave the traveler uncleated on both sides. When we did inevitably jibe the traveler pulling it's line through the blocks has a pretty good damping effect.

I'm not saying I would do it myself except in very light air but it did seem to work. The rig stayed up.
 
#5 ·
In general I would tend to agree. I've learned however that that one guys stupid is another guys tactic.

I crewed on a Farr 395 in a race as the main-sheet trimmer.

If you are not familiar with the Farr this boat has end boom sheeting with a traveler on the cockpit sole just a few inches forward of the pedestal with a continuous main-sheet.
So he is getting setup for a jibe and I'm attempting to haul in about 1,000' of line to center the boom to let it out on the other side.
The driver starts screaming at me to just just grab the multi-part bundle of line, duck and flip it around the pedestal while the boom goes crashing over in 20+ knots of wind.
Apparently that's the way it is done.
Needless to say I don't jibe that way unless explicitly told to by the owner.
 
#3 ·
I had to think about that for a minute. You either keep the loaded side cleated or, when the traveler moves to leeward, you have to pull the line through the leeward side.

Better than nothing, I suppose. Not sure I love the idea of a line being taken up off the deck, without intention. If ever there was a time for an accidental jibe, it would be on a run in the dark. :eek:

However, for that reason, I just wouldn't be on one without tying off the boom. Or, if I was concerned about the sea state and going forward to tie/untie, I would fly just the foresail or bear up and avoid the doom.
 
#4 ·
I confess in similar circumstances I'd probably get myself more onto a broad reach. Not being one who particularly loves ddw and loathes it on a dead dark night I'd be a nervous wreck using that arrangement.

(otoh, we do have a pretty preventer which is adjustable from the cockpit, an arrangement I'd recommend.)
 
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#11 ·
The Wichard Gyb'easy boom brake is a pretty ingenious and simple device. Outrageous money for a simple molded piece of aluminum and some stretch line, but patents exist for a reason. The only downside is they are limited to 400-500 sf mainsails. Don't know why they haven't made a larger one.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I have boom end sheeting w/ the traveler in the middle of the cockpit. An accidental jib is unacceptable.
I installed a dutchman boom brake on the current boat and the previous one. Love it! Always there. It's run to a secondary winch. Want to lock the boom. wrap the winch and lock it down. Want to jibe. Release the winch, jibe and lock it down again. No worries. Never have an accidental jibe again.
Jim
 
#16 ·
I was on a down wind run some years ago, and we jibed and broke the boom. Now I have a preventer. I have sailed on boats where they do not prevent the boom, and do feel uneasy.
 
#17 ·
Concerning getting hit by the boom, why is the boom so low? Realize one would loose some sail area, but raising the boom a foot or two could mean the difference between life or death. Some boats have booms that are high enough to not be a danger, others are below head height when standing in the cockpit. I am considering when I make replacement sails to raise the boom up a foot, to clear my head.

Pros and cons?
 
#18 ·
Many 1980's boats had lower booms and smaller dodgers.

Race boats will have lower booms (and no dodger) for the sail area.

One downside to raising the boom is that it raises the CofE of the main, increasing the tenderness of the boat. That is mitigated somewhat by a smaller sail area assuming you do not g with a tall rig.
 
#19 ·
That trip was with me. David joined after I sailed all day solo over to pick him up. He's a great help and I highly recommend him.

We have a boom break in the cockpit locker. I didn't feel we needed it yet, but would have pulled it out (or rigged a preventer) at the least suggestion. I like using it and the special line is used for only that purpose. We have the smaller mast = smaller sails, by the way, and the wind was unchanging in speed and direction and not gusting at all. The boom is above the full bimini hardware and the solar panel.

(I think boom brakes are far safer than preventers, by the way.)

The traveller setup was not intentional as a boom break.

More importantly is that all suggestions are welcome at any time. Maybe I should add that as a standard practice, to periodically solicit ideas on what we could do to sail safer or better. I like it!

Regards,
Brad
 
#20 ·
After multiple tries at various attach points for a preventer, decided that it was essentially a lousy idea, at least on my narrow boat: too much point load on the boom, boom would snap if buried, no good way to immediately release, etc. I have welded up a ladder device, similar to the one mentioned above. It's constructed of 1/2" 316 s.s. and attaches to a large plate I designed to spread loads out along the boom. There is no need for an elastic line that I can see as long as the sides of the working triangle are exactly equal. Using a piece of relatively stretchy 1/2" (old sheet) line should account for any minor discrepancies. Am going to install this in the spring and give up on trying to tie the boom off to something forward.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I made a boom brake out of some rope and one of those belaying cleats you can buy in a shop that sell gear for abseiling and mountaineering. It is alloy and shaped like a figure 8 and a good one here in Oz sells for about 30 bucks.
I ditched the boom down haul, ran a line from one chain plate through the belaying device ( sorry I dunno what they are called) which was attached to the boom at the old mounting point for the down haul about 4 feet back from the gooseneck. From there the line runs to a block on the opposite chain plate and back to a cleat on the outboard side of the cockpit coaming.
Simply tension it as required with a winch and cleat it off. It won't prevent a gybe but slows it down significantly. The heavier the line the greater the friction generated. I have found 12mm to be just right.
Because of the attach point fairly close in to the gooseneck, it is probably unsuitable for a boat much bigger than my 30 footer, but so far it has worked a treat.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Those climbing friction top-rope devices are basically the same principle as the Gyb-Easy device. The difference is that you can adjust the friction of a ladder device by the number of "steps" the line is threaded through. The ladder devices can also be disengaged by simply taking the line off the "post" at the top of the unit. The one I built from 1/2" s.s. rod would probably lift the boat. Although not as light as the cast aluminum commercial brake, it has to be much stronger. With the 12"x 4" plate shaped around the boom stress will be distributed over a much larger area. Wish I had pictures but it's on the boat which is asleep under tarp and snow:)
 
#27 · (Edited)
I no longer have the packaging so do not know the brand name of the unit I purchased. It was almost identical to the Rescue 8 but did not have the 'ears'.
I was concerned that they could snag or allow the line to jump free. However if more friction is needed the Rescue 8 may suit as long as tension can be held or provided you don't mind going forward to add the extra turns. With the standard 8 it can be left permanently rigged and the tension adjusted as desired from the cockpit. For cruising I find that I rarely need to change tension as what suits as a down haul when going to windward still provides enough friction to slow the gybe.
Each boat will be different, depending on how flat the mainsail, the angle of boom to mast etc.
The only time I need to slack it off is when done for the day and hauling in the topping lift.
 
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