Joe, You and Gary Hyde (and Bob Eeg) are correct. Properly rigged, the main will not hit the backstay under normal sailing conditions. And a properly adjusted boomvang will keep the boom from hitting the backstay during a high jibe or knockdown. But with the current boom length, if a boomvang isn’t rigged, or happens to be loose, then the boom can hang up on the backstay under these circumstances.
Yacht designer Ted Brewer said that ‘When it comes to their boats, cruising sailors tend to be more conservative then an Anglican Bishop’. Perhaps I am guilty of this, however: Spirit’s boom extrusion is 8’-1/2” long. With the gooseneck secured at the proper height, the boom is about 2” too long to clear the backstay when angled up. When I originally considered trimming 2” off the boom I checked to see how long other M17 booms were. The boom on a newer M17 was the same length as mine (and the owner was considering modifications before I brought up the issue). But the boom extrusion on an ’80s M17 was 7’10” - another 1/2” shorter then the 2" I calculated to be necessary (an additional 1/2” safety factor perhaps?). No, I don’t expect that everyone will run out and take a hacksaw to their booms after reading this posting. I just want my fellow M17 sailors to be aware of this possibility – especially if they sail in areas with big winds and bumpy seas without a boomvang. Personally, I’m going to live with the boom as it is for now, because cutting down the boom may make it slightly too short for the stock mainsail. But, when the time comes for a new mainsail, I plan to remove the gooseneck and trim 2-1/2” off the boom extrusion. This is actually cheaper and easier then installing a boomvang. Sincerely, “Bishop Jim” Poulakis M17 “Spirit” >Jim, Can you lower your boom a tad? I had the same issue with my boom hitting the backstay until I lowered the gooseneck a couple of inches. I can get the mainsail at the top and made a cunningham to pull down the boom and that solved my problem. I'm sure that all depends on the length of your luff. Joe >Chris, Julie: Jiffy reefing worked fine on my M15. I tried single-line reefing but went back to 2-line reefing, with the Clew reef line lead forward along the boom so I could handle the halyard and reef line both at once. The tack reef could be done with a reef hook on the boom, or a line thru it down to a cleat. Regarding boom length and hitting backstay, of course the M15 doesn't have a backstay, but on the M17 a boom vang prevents such interference. --Gary Hyde 2005 M17 sailboat #637 'Hydeaway 2' We can't change the wind, but we can trim our sails. Sailing is like "African Queening" thru life. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
