H-33 Boom Height

[Dale E. Baker]

The boom on my H-33 attaches to the mast on a short track, about 18-24", allowing the boom to be slid up or down. A spring loaded pin on the boom slide will lock the boom in the uppermost position only. Can anybody explain this design?The previous owner jury rigged a down haul to keep the boom at, or near, the bottom position. I understand using a downhaul to tension the luff, but that wouldn't need more than 6" of track would it.Are there reasons for hoisting the boom (and sail) higher, such as light wind days and lower during blows? And do any of you out in Hunter-land have preferences (and reasons) for hoisting the boom high or low? Looking forward to the discussion to follow.

 

[Terry Arnold]

H33 boom

With the mainsail furled,the boom locked in its highest position, and the topping lift adjusted to level the boom, there is headroom in the cocpit beneath the boom and better working room under the boom up on the deck. Visibility forward for steering is also much better.  On the other hand with the boom low, the lower center of effort with the sail set produces less heeling in a blow. With my mainsail, if the boom is too high, a tensioned halyard will bring the headboard into contact with the backstay, causing trouble when jibing. As you note, the track and a downhaul in conjunction with the halyard can be used to tension the entire luff. As a matter of routine, under average conditions, I end up with the boom about a third of the way from the bottom when sailing. All in all, the movable boom is a boon to efficient use of the mainsail.

 

[Dale E. Baker]

Thanks Terry!

Sorta what I thought. We took the boat for a shakedown cruise today. Winds 12-20 knots. Initially full main and 150%, but as the wind picked up we single reefed the main and took a couple turns on the furler. I was going to play around with boom height, but we were enjoying ourselves too much, so I just left it down low. One thing I noted when playing around with boom height at the dock. My Doyle main has a full roach, in the upper boom positions the topping lift is going to beat the roach. Guess I'll stick to lower boom heights for now.Thanks again.