I was a product safety lawyer for a number of years including autos and industrial machinery such as power presses. The number one rule is to never let the user be within a danger zone, for example hands should never be allowed under the ram of a press even if the operator tried to do so. By extension, the boom should be high enough so that even on an uncontrolled jibe it should clear the head of all onboard (rather than clear them of their head). Moreover, the safety of a topping lift can be vastly enhanced with a rigid Vang. The wind at the level of the boom is not very strong compared to the top of the mast so if you are tall enough to be hit you are better off shortening the sail and raising the boom and adding sail higher up with more roach. Jerry
Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 17, 2019, at 9:05 PM, Marek Dziedzic via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > I think this is an interesting read: > https://www.sail-world.com/news/208083/?source=email or even better: > https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/commercial/safety/accidents-reporting/accident-reports/documents/Platino-mnz-accident-report-2016.pdf > (from the horse’s mouth, a PDF). > > Even with the boom preventer one should be careful how the boats is helmed. > > The main issue there was not related to the boom preventer, but the preventer > itself was incorrectly rigged and failed catastrophically. > > On any boat of reasonable size (anything bigger than a dingy) I always gybe > using the mainsheet to bring the boom to the centreline and then releasing it > in controlled manner. By doing it always, I make sure that I would do it > correctly, when the wind is strong enough to make any damage. > > Marek > > From: CnC-List <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> On Behalf Of Josh Muckley via > CnC-List > Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2019 19:37 > To: C&C List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Cc: Josh Muckley <muckl...@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: Stus-List Gybe preventer, now Boom Brake > > In my opinion boom brakes are more work and clutter than they are worth. I > always tend the mainsheet when performing a gybe. By tend I mean center the > traveler and pull in the sheet to center the boom. As the gybe occurs I > quickly release the sheet. On multiple occasions I've seen main sails pop as > a result of uncontrolled or "forced over" gybes. > > Care is always required when going downwind but with an attentive helmsman a > preventer can sometimes be avoided. Most boats are actually slower dead > downwind so pick one side or the other. The most often time when a preventer > is unavoidable is wing and wing. > > Josh Muckley > S/V Sea Hawk > 1989 C&C 37+ > Solomons, MD > > > > On Sun, Mar 17, 2019, 11:08 AM David Knecht via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Thanks for all the info on preventers. I plan to use the advice to rig one > when spring finally arrives and use it on long downwind cruises. This > discussion also led me to look into boom brakes. I have always been > concerned about getting hit by the boom on a gybe, and being 6’ 3”, it is a > particular problem. I had never thought of a boom brake as a device for my > safety as opposed to the boat’s safety but realize now that this might be > well worth installing on both accounts. They seem to come in simple > inexpensive solutions (https://dreamgreen.org/boom-brake) to more complicated > and expensive devices (http://www.boom-brake-walder.com). In all cases, I > worry about another couple of lines to trip over when moving on the side > decks, thus trading one hazard for another. Thoughts? Dave > > S/V Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >
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