On Jul 22, 8:23 am, Michael <MichaelAl... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:
On Jul 15, 4:41 pm, marek <mzawa... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
I've just switched to a carbon boom for my 7.5 and 9.0 sail and since
there is no wind to try it I was wondering what I can expect from the
new toy
.
What was your experience when switching from alu to carbon? Were you
shocked or the difference is not that spectacular?
-marek
I had the same experience as Craig. No big difference noticed
switching to carbon, until I then went back and sailed an aluminum
boom. The aluminum boom feels dead and heavy in comparison (even when
the booms weigh the same.) The larger the boom the greater the
difference noticed.
Two days ago I put a new aluminum boom on the water for a 9.6 and 11.
I've been sailing the 9.6 with an N.P. carbon 200 fully extended.
This Epic Gear Alu suits the 9.6 well. The N.P. Carbon, although it
fit the 9.6, was too small for my tastes. It's hard to generalize
with only one non-planing session for experience, but I'm glad to have
a boom that fits the 9.6 and can overlook the fact that it's made out
of aluminum. Now, when I used the Alu 220-280 with a recently
acquired 11 meter formula board, it was like a noodle. I had to
extend it to within 4 cm of it's limit and don't recommend doing
that. It's hard for me to believe that someone would think 4.7 to 5.7
sails were big, but I also have been using a new carbon boom for sails
from 4.4 to 6.9 for the last few years. This past winter in Florida,
I went back to my ancient Chinook Comp Alu for a 6.0 and 7.1 and
really didn't notice much of a difference except that it's heavier
before rigged and on the water. It's really a great deal for the
money. Mine has been in heavy use over nearly two decades. Before I
bought it, I had a Bic boom snap, again in Florida. I told Jim B. of
Sailworld that I wanted a sturdy boom at any cost. He sold me this
one and assured me that it would not break. It has not.
Unfortunately, I'm rather nervous about the Epic Gear breaking with
the 11 meter sail. This obviously would be why Formula sailing is
done by the very few i.e. it's expensive.
