Time to build a boom for the mini Explorer. the first photo shows the possibilities in terms of materials. The one I'm going to use this time is the broken sailboard mast. Thease were ontained from the side of a shed in Falcon when I was buying all the unbroken half masts.
the fishing rods shown are 5' half sections from a rubbish skip. I you were making a sail with an internal boom like a Blokart they are ideal booms. we have used a number of them in some of our early sails and they work really well. just like this.
the boom I will build is the one in this plan.
you will need 1700mm of material . the first step will be to put a plug in one end . Remember that 200mm of wood left over from the mast building. I used the liqiud nails again!
once the glue has set , a16mm hole is drilled at an angle into the wooden end .
I recommend drilling a pilot hole first as end grain drilling of timber with bigger sized drill bits can go astray very easily.. A plastic rowlock that you can buy in marine shops will fit in as a boom fitting. DO NOT use a METAL ROWLOCK.
The front pulley is now fitted with a saddle. the screws holding the saddle should be long enough to nip into the plastic rowlock that was glued into the 16mm hole you drilled earlier.
the rear end can be cut and the 'V' lock cut and holes for the outhaul added. The system gives a 2:1 haul on the sail. you will need to use a 5mm rope on this as thinner line will tend to slip.
The rear pulley cut out is drilled out using a 25mm hole saw and a thin grinding blade. holes to take some 4mm spectra or 5mm regular marine line are drilled in the top of the boom. the pulleys are simply held in place with rope.
the pulleys I am using are from LW RILEY an Australian made unit. they are are 38mm ball bearing blocks. the whole yacht uses 4x PYF600 singles and 1xPYF601.
the system uses 5.5m of 10 or 12mm rope. Invest in good quality marine sheet rope. I will do a diagram of the final sheeting arrangement soon, and include some alternatives
here is the boom fitted with a sail. the rear of the sheeting and the outhaul can be seen. A short piece of rope holds the sail down to the boom.
here is the front of the boom with sail and mast in place . Note the 2 pieces of rope at this end. they will prevent tearing of the sail
