Boom repair

I woke the other day at dawn to ruminating, anxious thoughts about what would have happened had the boom broke in the gale during the return from Bermuda.  If you can’t imagine the possibilities, just as well.  The damage that led to failure must have occurred at that time.  It is simply dumb luck that it waited to break fully until I was near shore in benign conditions.  Now I have no welding expertise but, after working with the John Williams yard for three days, I am confident that we built a considerably stronger connection.

Here is a picture of the new gooseneck, the attachment between the boom and the mast.  You are looking at the front of the boom.  Note that there is a solid plate on the forward end of the boom.

We also built a new pin, the piece with the hole at the
top, because the old one was nearly worn through

This second picture shows the old gooseneck (from the other side) after it broke off.  It was only attached to the front end of the boom by four tabs, two of which you can see.  The initial design had openings in the front of the boom so lines could pass through, accommodating the previous reefing system, called single-line reefing, that I have replaced.  The tabs are what broke.  The plate will be considerably stronger than the tabs were.

This next picture shows the end of the boom after it broke off.  You can see where the tabs attached.

This next picture shows the gooseneck as seen from below.  You can jut make out the black sheaves (round pieces) that the lines are fed over.  The metal pieces are dividers between the sheaves so that the ropes do not jump from one to the next.  The axle for the sheaves goes through the plates and into the sides, helping tie the whole structure together.