Carbon booms?

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nitro's picture
nitro
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Joined: 08/26/2003 - 15:07
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Carbon booms?

Realizing that my booms are 15 years old (Chinook aluminum, never had an issue), I am thinking it is time to replace. So I am mulling the thought of going carbon, but dang, I am seeing mid-sized carbons (150-200cm) for $650-$700, while top of the line Chinook aluminums on sale for $199.

Anyone using carbon booms for their mid to small sails (7.0-4.5) who could provide some insight? Is there any way to justify paying 3 times the price?

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moredownhaul
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Joined: 05/10/2007 - 07:28
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Re: Carbon booms?

Get the best you can afford and there will be no need to upgrade later.

I really couldn't tell a lot of difference in the weight or stiffness of the Aluminum vs Carbon booms for the smaller sizes (4.0 to 5.5) but when you get up to the 6.5 to 9.0 range the Aluminum ones are just too dang heavy and flex way too much for my taste.

BTW I have a Chinook pro 1 Alloy in the 185-247cm size for sale, I used only once.
$150

Just my 2Cents

Alan

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webguy
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Joined: 12/31/2000 - 22:01
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Re: Carbon booms?

Smallest sail I use with a carbon boom is 8.0. I think at our weight, carbon in the small sizes just won't be noticeable. I've not been tempted to even bother. When the modern alum booms went to a solid front end, that helped both stiffness and longevity as those holes up front were where Chinooks were prone to fatiguing.

However, if the spirit moves you, I'm selling an old smaller size fiberspar carbon for a friend.

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Barrett
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Joined: 12/23/2003 - 23:07
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Re: Carbon booms?

I bought carbon booms for my 8.5m & 7.0m sails, a purchase that was well worth the price. A carbon boom is obviously lighter and stiffer than aluminum, but the advantage is greater for large sails than small ones.

My wife helped make the decision to buy a mid-size carbon boom. We were packing up after three weeks in Nags Head and Peggy asked why it took so long to pack up my gear. I explained that aluminum booms corrode and break after use in salt water if they are not taken apart, rinsed, and dried. They're also prone to jamming from the combination of sand and corrosive salt. My wife told me to stop wasting so much time and risk having a broken boom on the water. She said to go ahead a buy another carbon boom.

After buying a mid-size carbon boom for my 6.0 & 5.2 meter sails, I found the carbon really did sail better and has reduced my worry about breaking down in stormy conditions. I'm now thinking of buying one for my small sails.

Barrett

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nitro's picture
nitro
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Joined: 08/26/2003 - 15:07
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Re: Carbon booms?

Thanks for the input guys.

So I am stuck between "buy the best boom you can afford" (which I have learned over the years is good advice), and "anything I buy will be a big upgrade over what I have, so why not get the $200 boom AND a brand new Ezzy mast for the same price?". Decisions, decisions...

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webguy's picture
webguy
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Joined: 12/31/2000 - 22:01
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Re: Carbon booms?

You can get an alum boom, 90% carbon rdm chinook mast and about a half of an Ezzy sail.

Or, you can get the alum boom and spend a neat little holiday with the family somewhere. Memories last longer than carbon booms. Biggrin

If you liked to rig a 7.5 and ride it until it wanted to fold itself inside out in the gusts, we'd be having a different conversation. In the sizes you are talking about, it's only about a pound difference. If that really mattered, we'd be buying Ezzy Legacys instead of Lions or Cheetahs.

I'm not against carbon booms. When I win the lottery, I'm getting lots of carbon: booms, masts, boards, bikes, foils. It's just that there's a huge price differential even in the smaller sizes which, imho, for us smaller guys just doesn't make enough difference to justify it when there's other things that probably have a higher priority in the family budget.

Edit: I'm a cheap bastard

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webguy's picture
webguy
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Joined: 12/31/2000 - 22:01
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Re: Carbon booms?

Interesting take on carbon vs aluminum. It gets complicated in the smaller sizes and according to these guys, stiffer isn't always better

http://www.point-7.com/academy/alu-carbon-booms/

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Randy
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Joined: 05/05/2002 - 10:38
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Re: Carbon booms?

Interesting article. I'm not sure that all of the stuff in there is applicable to me.

"The reflex of a boom, determines the performance of the sail. If a boom is too stiff, in waves, it could be to reactive and hard on your arms while landing big air jumps."

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

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nitro's picture
nitro
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Joined: 08/26/2003 - 15:07
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Re: Carbon booms?
webguy wrote:

Interesting take on carbon vs aluminum. It gets complicated in the smaller sizes and according to these guys, stiffer isn't always better

http://www.point-7.com/academy/alu-carbon-booms/

Yep, I saw this article yesterday as well. Good read. I ended up getting two new rdm RRD aluminum booms after I started this initial thread, and am really happy that I did not go with carbon. These aluminum booms were stiffer, lighter and more comfortable than my old Chinook booms. If I won the lottery, I would definitely would go full carbon, but modern aluminum booms are REALLY nice. So for the price of one carbon boom, I got 2 aluminum booms plus and an Ezzy Hookipa mast.

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