Repair and reinforcement of split boom

Builder's Forum
1

Repair and reinforcement of split boom

 

I let the boom get away from me while rigging my Skerry and split the boom where the gooseneck goes in.

 

Any suggestions on how to repair – and more importantly – reinforce the boom?

 

I’ve re-epoxy the split with thickened epoxy.  Next I plan to wrap the boom a little past the end of the split with glass tape.  Then I plan to use a French whipping of light rope over the crack and a little past the end of the glass tape.  I’m thinking of at least setting the rope in epoxy to make sure it does not slip.

 

Any suggestions?

 
2

If you wrap the split with a couple of layers of tape and take the wrapping at least 2 boom diameters past the end of the split, that's all you need. At that point the whipping will only be decorative. The glass will be providing all the strength.

Even better than tape (though the tape will be just fine) is biaxial glass sleeving. It'll be much smoother and stronger than tape, one layer would be enough.

Good luck,

Laszlo