boom brake tests

www.sailingtoday.co.uk/gear/gear-on-test/boom-brakes/

What do you mount the rope to Ramona?

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shaggybaxter said..
Hi Ramona,
Do you run a brake now or are you looking at doing so? I am curious, I have never sailed with a boom brake before.
I just have a simple gybe preventer setup with a fuse. The fuse will blow in a major crash gybe.
So my setup doesn't help when you've chinese'd and are pinned on your side, just mitigates the chance of it happening.

I have been playing about with them for some time. Awhile back I turned up an aluminium copy of a Walder and I was happy with that for awhile but had a bit of a fright one day when an overriding turn gave me some grief. I fitted a figure 8 and have been shifting the boom position about and moving the turning blocks on the toe rail around trying to get a satisfactory position. Currently the figure 8 is at the boom vang fitting and the turning blocks on the toe rail inline with the 8. I had been using 10mm rope led back to cleats each side of the cockpit. Before gybing I tension up both sides. I only use the brake when the breeze is above 20 knots and I have to gybe just before I cross the bar. If I can I will avoid having to gybe at all in these conditions. I have found the 10mm rope to make very little difference in slowing the boom. The Wichard comes with 11mm rope and it looks like it would have a lot more friction than my shiny 10mm rope.

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nswsailor said..
Have a look here to see how I did mine.

www.tophatyachts.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1817&hilit=Boom

Yep same set up as mine. I even have the same descender.

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twodogs1969 said..
Will this also work as a preventer?

No. The brake only slows the boom.