I've been digesting your views and opinions on boards and sails. What about booms? From what I've summized on the sails I would think something from 140 to 200 should cover the range of sails I would be dealing with as a beginner for now. I was checking the Isthmus site boom closeouts. What are your general views on boom types, grip size, weight, etc..... Are booms something that get sold used very often from what you've seen? What do you look for in choosing one besides it fitting your sail? and what types favor your sailing style? just curious.

From the Isthmus inventory I like the RRD 140-200 both the MR26 and the MR29-on paper at least. I would realy like to read about somebody's hands-on experience with them. People with small hands will really appreciate the 26 diameter. Heavier people will probably prefer the 29 for durability and stiffness.
My small boom currently is an Aeron 29 150-200 and I don't like it much. It's solid and stiff yes, but: the grip material is too harsh, the letters are peeling, the numbers on the arms become almost invisible and I hate the 2.5cm increments , the head orientation is weird also IMO.

But other than that it's "great" right? How long have you had it? Sounds like it could be ready for the chopping block. Why do you hate the 2.5cm increments? As far as the grip I watched the"Breakfast Taco" video and they were installing a grip sheath of some sort on a boom. Is this a comfort option, annual maintenance issue or compensating for to small a diameter boom? I would think the boom is something one would really want to feel comfortable with since it's what drives your turns, jumps and comfort every time you hit the water. Does anyone think a bad feeling boom adds to fatigue?

I got the m29 alum t-9 boom last season from isthmus. Great boom for the price, very solid construction. Very good rotating head, and built in (removable)mast shim for skinny masts. I bought this to replace a cracked carbon boom (lots of use, used it exclusively for 8 years or so). For the huge price difference between carbon and aluminum, it was a no brainer decision to go with this boom.

The only problem i have is sand gets stuck in the boom extension (usually from sailing lake michigan, doesn't seem to happen on wolf lake), and it has jammed the extension badly enough to require a car jack to seperate (no joke, last week we sailed MC 2 days, and the extension was stuck so badly that I used my car jack and a 2x4 to unstick it; no amount of soaking or flexing could free the boom, the jack was a last resort and only took a moment). This problem, btw, is commom, and not exclusive to RRD alum booms. My fiberspar carbon boom that it replaced had a different pin system and it NEVER jammed.

BTW- i use electrical tape between the mast halves to prevent sand from going in (very successfull, very quick,have been doing this for years, a must for ocean sailing), and i will try this on the boom extension joint to see if it limits sand coming in.

alan schmid wrote:
I just got a can of silicone spray delivered:
www.mcnett.com/m-essentials/silicone-spray#20410
I sprayed last night the arms of my aluminum boom-they get hard to move just from oxidation. It will take a while to clearly see the results, but meanwhile you are welcome if you want to try it. There is plenty in this can.
I rub a bar of soap on the mast ferrule everytime before connecting the halves and it prevents them from getting stuck. I should patent that invention-I'll get immensely rich for sure
I'll try the silicon spray on the ferrule tomorrow too.

mast tape only takes 15 seconds- it stays on the mast all season long ( i start the season with about a piece of tape wrapped 5 times around the mast end- then during the season, i reuse the tape , and when it loses its stickiness, then i tear off that piece and continue to do so until the rest of the tape is gone). It really only takes 15 second to wrap the mast.

I just got (2) new ezzy masts, and they seem to be a little looser at the joint than my other non-ezzy mast, I'm tempted to try and sail without taping that joint , but I don't know if i want to risk it since the tape is so easy.

Do you have any good ideas to resolve the boom extension sticking?

Hm if sanding solves the jamming issue it may mean that I could have stopped the soaping after several initial applications. The fine sand and soap mixture creates a mild abrasive film that have smoothed out the walls to perfection. In fact the few times that I forgot to rub didn't end in jamming, but I attributed it to the soap residue.

I use the tape in the exactly same way as Alan does. It takes me less than 15 seconds, prevents the sand from coming in, and eliminates a chance of breaking a mast due to the ferrule not pushed in all the way into the other half. It can happen especially when you're trying to get on the water as fast as possible and make a rigging mistake. I've seen that happen couple of times. IMHO the tape is well wort it.

Stefan Hamran wrote: It's true, I've heard quite a few such stories. The tape is a good common sense measure that can save you $$$.
Also some folks have managed to crush a SDM mast by over tightening the boom clamp!

Garry Zack wrote:

I have the Aeron MCT 26 aluminum (150-200) it covers my whole quiver of Ezzy wave sails. 6.9, 5.8, 4.7, 4..2, 3.7.

Aeron MCT 26 (150-200) aluminum


The Loop & Go wasn't "full auto" so I made a modification as seen here.. Aeron Boom Loop 'n' Go: It takes a Dremel

I also don't use their shim with the hard plastic sides. I swapped it out for a full rubberized Maui Sails shim for extra protection on my RDM 100% carbon masts as seen here on my old Aeron MCT 175





Garry Zack wrote:

Smaller diameter helps with forearm fatigue and when wearing gloves. I wear gloves all the time for sun protection. Smaller diameter boom sacrifices some stiffness especially in aluminum booms. You can save some weight with carbon booms but the big gain is in the stiffness and you'll really notice it the bigger the sail. Carbon booms can break but they don't warp and fatigue over time like aluminum. The down side is carbon booms are 3.5x the price of aluminum booms.

Booms come in 2 different shapes. Wave and freestyle booms are C shape. Regular shape allows for a deeper draft for bigger slalom and race sails or for folks that like the feel of the Regular shape.

C shape and Regular shape




Flashback: Booms of the past I've owned.

Windsurfing Hawaii Power Taper aluminum (late 80s / early 90s) Clamp-On articulating head - tapered grip area(26mm) - Loop & Go tail



Fiberspar Posi-Grip Full Carbon (late 90s / early 2000s) Clamp-On articulating head - tapered grip area(26mm) - Loop & Go tail

Reid, great info on the shape showing the angle of the wrist on the regular shape boom. I also like the glove idea for the sun. I have the long sleeve spf shirt but will eventually need to look into some gloves. Looks like a good engineering design change you and Mr. Dremel performed as well as finding additional protection for your mast. Great ideas and I also like everyone else's views on the sand issue and use of electrical tape.

alan schmid wrote:

UPDATE 10/24/2015
The stuck boom extension is a non issue for me. It still happens, but there is an easy fix, that no one talks about! I figured this out last year......Instead of brute force of just pulling on the boom to remove the stuck extension, i simply take the boom and put extension end over a fence post . I then gently twist the boom arms a little, maybe an inch or so, while pulling on the boom arms. This is enough to release any sand that has jammed up the extension. You can also cushion the fence post with a towel or something to prevent marring or damage to the boom. There is a fence post of sorts at every launch I've been to.