Who's still got their original boom?

R

robwhelton

.
Feb 18, 2010
33
A friend of mine who has a Vega ('Jenny Spinner') mentioned that a few years ago his original boom broke whilst sailing- he said it was around the vang attachment point.
This sounds quite scary and I'm wondering if most Vega spars might be now nearing the end of their lives? His Vega is considerably newer than mine too!
I'm planning on getting a new mainsail this year and it would seem sensible to upgrade the boom at the same time- this would also allow me to consider a better reefing system and maybe a stackpack while I'm at it. On the other hand I don't want to spend money unnecessarily.

So, has anybody else replaced their boom, and why?

Cheers,

Rob Whelton
V1583 'Mavanier'
Stornoway, Scotland
 
M

mphalv

.
Sep 29, 2001
195
Hi Rob. Double Fantasy, V1826 (1973), still has her original boom, mast,
and standing rigging. She has many miles under her keel. I think if we
were contemplating any serious off shore trips we would probably need to
replace the standing rigging.

Melanie Halvachs
Holden, Maine
 
T

txsailcouple

.
Sep 9, 2006
45
Yup... snapped right in two at the same place as your friend's did. I tried to
have a sleeve installed to repair it but the inside was too weak to accept it.
The welder said it was just looking for the worst time to happen. A local
rigging guy fixed me up with a boom which came off the mizzen mast of a much
larger boat. It is more of a tear drop shape and much stronger than the
original.

I forgot my hull # & I'm in Costa Rica on vacation this week, lol... but mine is
about a '75 or '76.

John Devany
Southern Comfort Too

________________________________
From: robwhelton robwhelton@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, September 6, 2010 4:30:54 AM
Subject: [AlbinVega] Who's still got their original boom?


A friend of mine who has a Vega ('Jenny Spinner') mentioned that a few years ago
his original boom broke whilst sailing- he said it was around the vang
attachment point.
This sounds quite scary and I'm wondering if most Vega spars might be now
nearing the end of their lives? His Vega is considerably newer than mine too!
I'm planning on getting a new mainsail this year and it would seem sensible to
upgrade the boom at the same time- this would also allow me to consider a better
reefing system and maybe a stackpack while I'm at it. On the other hand I don't
want to spend money unnecessarily.

So, has anybody else replaced their boom, and why?

Cheers,

Rob Whelton
V1583 'Mavanier'
Stornoway, Scotland
 
I

imbissfrank

.
Mar 28, 2011
261
Hi Rob, Paul and Melanie !,
Cin Cin V-2184 still has her original mast, boom and standing rigging also. Greetings from Germany !Frank Gallardo Jr
sv Cin Cin V-2184
"May the warm wind at your back not be your own"
 
B

btfag0s

.
Sep 13, 2002
203
Aisling, V752, still has her original boom.
The original mast is still in place, although I sawed a centimetre
off the bottom about 25 years ago due to thinning and a couple of
hairline cracks.

Alisdair
 
E

eliassonguitars

.
Dec 24, 2009
60
My Vega, "1118" from 1971 has its original boom, mast and rigging and I havent found any problems. It was high quality when new.

I´ve drawn all the nescessary lines and a winch back to the cockpit so that I can reef from there.
I wouldnt change a boom just because someones has broken. If it was a general problem, then I would consider it.
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Sin Tacha #1331, from 1971, still has the original mast, boom, and standing rigging, except for the fore stay, and the only reason that was replaced was because I installed a new furler.

The mast and boom are Proctor's, the gold anodized ones. The boom has spent most of it's life hiding under a sail cover so the gold is still bright and shiny, but the mast looks a little faded, a bit like old teak.

I'd check the boom for evidence of corrosion around the vang bail fastenings, and anywhere else where hardware have been installed. If there's no whitish powder it should be fine. Tapping it with a nylon hammer, much like checking for deck delamination, might also reveal any thin spots, and an exploratory 1/8" hole to check thickness at suspected spots might be revealing. (They can be filled with epoxy or a small screw.)

Years ago I had a Lancer 25 that had a really nice boom, sort of a rectangular cross-section, with internal slab reefing lines, cleats and tack hooks built in. Wish I had that on the Vega .... but I'll stick with the original as long as possible. It has a lot more solid feel when it cracks me on the skull than the Lancer one did!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'
 
T

tim_klynn

.
Feb 12, 2008
337
The boom, mast and standing rigging (except forestay) on Flicka are are original as far as I know. The boom has some corrosion where the fitting at the gooseneck enters the boom, but other than that it looks fine.
 
J

j.hunter9999

.
Oct 30, 2019
574
Bella, V2620, still has her original boom, mast and rigging. The boom is in excellent condition. I converted to slab reefing (two reef points) last year and it is a dramatic improvement! I also installed stowable lazy jacks, which are a godsend! I've been debating running the lines aft, but need to figure a couple other things out first.

By the way, Peter's comment about it feeling more solid when it cracks him in the head made me laugh out loud!

Jack
 
S

schroath

.
Jul 26, 2004
90
Snipp has her original boom and mast, both apparently in good shape. We changed rigging about 3 years ago. First time, I believe.

Jody
 
H

hheiduck

.
Aug 1, 2000
95
It was original when Tim became the owner of "Flicka". She was built in 1973 and I purchased her from the original owner in 1976.

Hans Heiduck
 
H

hheiduck

.
Aug 1, 2000
95
Tim,

Since I've started sailing on Priscilla at the museum, I have become a real fan of Lazy Jacks (the old fashioned kind with lines attached to the boom). Of course the sails are much larger, but they do contain the sail just fine.

I actually never considered any main sail containment system when I still sailed "Flicka", but one of my boating friends with a 27' Catalina had the Dutchman system (line fed through grommets in the main) installed and it worked real well.

Anyway that's my two cents on the subject of lazy jacks.

Hans
 
R

robwhelton

.
Feb 18, 2010
33
Thanks for all the replies- looks like booms breaking is pretty rare, although it's interesting that both instances are in later model Vegas and are at the vang attachment.
What amazes me, though, is how many people still have their original standing rigging! Maybe I'm paranoid but when I got my Vega this year I couldn't ascertain the age of the rigging and decided just to replace the whole lot for peace of mind. Also, my insurers required me to have rigging no older than ten years and that is the case for most people in the UK I believe.

Rob Whelton
V1583 'Mavanier'
Stornoway
Scotland
 
B

btfag0s

.
Sep 13, 2002
203
Although I have the original mast and boom I replaced the standing
rigging a few years ago and added slab reefing.

Alisdair
V752
 
S

stevebirch2002

.
Nov 8, 2001
1,818
Hi All

I've know of quite a few Vegas that have had broken booms at the vang connection. This is a weak point on the boom and if always fully tightened hard will cause stress. Ray Steele has fixed his one with a collar from a slightly bigger boom and made a fine job. Not specific to just the later Vegas I'm afraid.

Steve B
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
My reluctance to replace the original rigging stems from the suspicion that new wire seems inferior in quality to the wire offered in the 60's and 70's. Most failures appear to be where the wire enters a fitting, so keeping an eye on these connections is good insurance.

If I replace my standing rig I'll take a serious look at using Dynex-Dux 75, a synthetic fibre.


Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'
 
C

capnscruffy

.
Oct 31, 2019
34
Speaking of booms, I had a thought to put a longer boom on my vega - so as
to improve the lead of the main sheet - that is so it doesn't take up so
much of the cockpit. any thoughts?
 
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