In the recent past I used a Capt. Dan boom break which I connected to a ring that tied off forward to one of the fittings connecting the main sheet to the boom and another line leading after to the back end of the boom. Another line is connected to a port mid-cleat, through the boom break, through a snatch block on the starboard side then back to the cleat just aft of the jib sheet winch. Tightening that line adds more resistance to the line that goes through the break so that when you do jibe, if you have the tension just right (depending on the wind speed) then the boom will slowly swing to the new leeward. Sounds great right! Well, not really. You have to have that tension set just right for things to work well and that takes practice otherwise know as trial and error. The reason I put the Capt. Dan boom break on the boat in the first place was because my “first mate” almost had her head taken off in an accidental jibe when she was standing on the cockpit seat, a place where she shouldn’t have been when sailing downwind in a blow and I was taken by surprise by a sudden wind change. I also didn’t like the way the rigging took a shock even in a controlled jibe.
But recently I also added line clutches and a larger self tailing two speed winch (the old one was non-self tailing and undersized) which now makes it much easier to crank the main sheet in to near center, even in a blow, jibe and then let the main sheet out. “But Bob”, you might ask, “You can still have an accidental jibe?” Yes, that’s true but I don’t usually like to sail wing on wing unless the wind speeds are low and then I may attach a preventer, using part of the same set up as the boom break but instead attaching to the ring that was holding the boom break and then running that line back to the cockpit via the snatch block. Then I can pull the boom over for the safety of the cockpit. It’s important to do when you have non-sailors aboard who don‘t realize what can happen to that boom in a jibe. (They don’t even know what a jibe is!) When I need to sail in a direction towards downwind I almost always sail on something close to a broad reach (where an accidental jibe is highly unlikely) and then jibe to port and starboard while on my way because I thinks it can be faster and in the summer sailing on a run can get very hot especially during an August day on the Chesapeake Bay.
So I’ll probably be retiring my Captain Dan boom break to the spare parts bin because it’s just not needed anymore.
Capt. Dan Boom Break
Capt. Dan Boom Break on the boom. Line on left goes to the port mid-cleat. Line going right leads to snatch block on starboard side and then back to cockpit. I’m “retiring” this setup after improvements to main sheet controls.
Bigger winch (old one was a Barient 10 single speed and non-tailing) and rope clutches make line handling from the cockpit much easier. Yes, the “dimples” from the old holes in the cabin top are still there cause I haven’t gotten around to fixing the gel coat yet.