Sail/boom compatibility

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Ashevillejanes
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Joined: 07/10/2018 - 09:23
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Sail/boom compatibility

I have a 4.5 Severne gator. It requires a boom length of 158cm. My boom is a 160-220. I’m thinking I’ll just use the boom I have instead of buying another one. Any thoughts?

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Randy
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Joined: 05/05/2002 - 10:38
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Re: Sail/boom compatibility

Since no one else has answered: It would never even occur to me that the extra 2 cm (<1 inch) is a problem. Just go with the closest in (160) position. Sailmakers and boom makers probably never talk to each other so you may find there is more or less space between the 160 position and 158 clew of the sail than 2cm, but I wouldn't worry about it.

There is a downside of using the bigger boom - it weighs more than it needs to for the job, and it may complicate changing sails if you only have one boom. That would be something to consider in deciding to buy another boom.

What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.

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aeroegnr
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Joined: 01/15/2023 - 09:56
Posts: 148
Re: Sail/boom compatibility

To add to what Randy said, be careful with the width of booms when adding to your quiver. The larger freeride booms often have a wider opening than on the smaller wave booms. So even if the length works, using a relatively large sail with a relatively small boom, there may not be enough space for the sail to get to its full shape inside the boom arms.

But in this case I think the smaller gator should fit in that bigger boom just fine.

If you look at the severne gator site there is a break between recommended booms on 5.3 and 5.6. I'm not 100% on this but it may be due to how much those sails open vs. a wave or freestyle sail which has a lot less belly. So if you look at recommended booms for freeks for instance, they don't recommend larger than the 150 wave boom, even for a 6.3, which is the largest freek you can get. Similar to blades, they recommend the 150 boom for even the 6.7 blade.

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webguy
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webguy
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Joined: 12/31/2000 - 22:01
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Re: Sail/boom compatibility

A couple of things:
With adjustable outhaul, it's not unusual for my clew to be 5 cm or more from the boom end on big sails so, echoing the others, 2 cm isn't a big deal.

Second more general point (not aimed at OP by any means) - a lot of people confuse the boom setting with where they should put the clew. The boom setting is meant to provide the general maximum outhaul setting for a sail. That doesn't mean you automatically pull the clew to the boom in all conditions. In medium and light winds, you'll often most, if not all, of the time have the outhaul set less than that to give the sail more power. However, should you need to pull more outhaul either by manually adjusting it on the water or through an adjustable outhaul, you'll have enough room to pull the extra cm or 2 if you need it. One local thanked me profusely after I pointed that out saying that his Ezzys performed much better when they weren't always yanked flat. Yes 3

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aeroegnr
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aeroegnr
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Joined: 01/15/2023 - 09:56
Posts: 148
Re: Sail/boom compatibility

Yeah ezzy cheetahs also have a huge outhaul range. Honestly some time with an adjustable outhaul really helped me feel the difference. I've been there with poor downhaul and outhaul settings Pleasantry

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webguy
Ashevillejanes
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Joined: 07/10/2018 - 09:23
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Re: Sail/boom compatibility

As always, lots of good tips. Thanks for the feedback!

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