Storm damage - boom repair needed

[David Vaughn]

So last night a line of severe thunderstorms and a few isolated tornadoes moved through, and our marina took pretty substantial hit. Gusts somewhere between 60 and 70mph.
Our E31's bimini was shredded and the frame mangled, a small amount of water came in under one of the overhead hatches, and also this happened:

Haven't quite figured out how; guess it doesn't matter much at this point.

So advice on repair: find a good aluminum welder, or is there a new boom in Kotona's future?

 

[Dave G.]

Wow, did your main sheet come loose ?

 

[David Vaughn]

Mainsheet was still firmly cleated when I got there this morning.
The boom moves a bit from side to side from the small amount of stretch in the sheet / play in the blocks, but only a few inches.
The stainless tubing of the bimini is well bent. Maybe when it finally pulled from its mounting base, it began bashing the end of the boom.

 

[G Kiba]

Always interesting diagnosing causes. I can believe that the stack pack and bimini canvas in 70 mph winds could cause that much damage.

 

[Kenneth K]

I'm guessing that when those end fittings are tight, they are held in mostly by "form fit." As the fit loosens and the boom and screw holes become mis-shaped over the years, they start to allow more and more play in the end fitting. For example:



Ultimately, all the force winds up on the screw holes, which then give out. If your end cap was somewhat loose to begin with, the mainsheet was likely whipping it about severely in 60+K winds. Or, as you say, maybe the Bimini frame hit it.

For a fix, if you don't have internal lines in the boom, you could probably just have it welded back on. If you do have internal lines, you'll want to keep the cap removable. You could have a thin aluminum strap (say, 3/16"-1/4" thick and 3/4"-1" wide) welded around the perimeter of the boom to reinforce the open end. Then, drill new screw holes (in a different location from the old ones). Or, if your sail foot is short enough, just cut off the last 1" to 1-1/2" inches of the boom and re-drill.

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

[David Vaughn]

Thanks Ken. I had wondered if it could be cut off. We do have internal lines, so need to be able to access that end of the boom.
Weather is still bad today and tomorrow. By the weekend it will improve, I can raise the main and see if it would be short enough.

 

[Kenneth K]

I'd probably flip that screw shackle around too so it faces the other direction (is that the topping lift?). The way it's sitting now, it's trying to pry the pad-eye loose when tensioned.



Also, have a look at the gooseneck fitting (both the boom to boom-end joint, and the boom-end to mast gooseneck joint) to check for play. I had to replace my gooseneck bolt because of wear.

 

[Christian Williams]

Looks to me like you could just put the boom end cap back on, use what holes still work, and drill for new ones to reinforce.

The outhaul sheave will help keep the cap on, only the topping lift will weigh on the fasteners.

 

[bigd14]

Looks to me like you could just put the boom end cap back on, use what holes still work, and drill for new ones to reinforce.

Sorry to hear about the damage. I agree with Christian, it looks salvageable as is. If additional reinforcement is needed a pair of small L brackets tapped to the side of the boom and reaching behind the end cap flange would hold it securely. You would have to bend the damaged bits of the boom back into place taking care not to snap them off.

BTW that is an interesting boom section. Is that typical for the Independence Ericson's?

Good luck with the repairs.

 

[southofvictor]

Sorry to hear about it. Lots of good ideas above. I’d guess that in the light of a clear day you‘ll get it sorted without too much drama. As Ken said I’d definitely check the gooseneck end for damage though. Looks like things got torqued around pretty good.

 

[David Vaughn]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Christian and bigd14 - when the weather clears tomorrow I'll be able to try refitting the end piece and drilling new holes as needed. You're probably right that it will hold well. Fingers crossed.

 

[Solarken]

Man I hate messes like that. Been 50 knots plus here the last two weeks! Feeing lucky so far.

never seen a fitting like that in the end of the boom. What is it?

 

[Dave G.]

Kenneth, I think you're missing the screw at the bottom of the boom/fitting ? Mine keeps falling out so going to need some loc-tite I think.

 

[Kenneth K]

Kenneth, I think you're missing the screw at the bottom of the boom/fitting ?

Nice catch, but that's an old photo I stole from this site, not mine.

 

[David Vaughn]

Man I hate messes like that. Been 50 knots plus here the last two weeks! Feeing lucky so far.

never seen a fitting like that in the end of the boom. What is it?

Yeah, bit of a mess, but it could have been so much worse. One side of our finger pier broke away from the main dock.

If the other side had also let go, there would have only been one bow line holding us to the main dock. Smacking against our neighbor's boat on one line probably would have ended badly. And if that line had let go, well, there are rocks at the end of the slipway and covered docks across from us. As it was we (and our neighbor) just have a couple of fender scuffs.

During a lull yesterday afternoon, we moved to a different dock. Winds are high again today, but we're now mostly bow into the wind. And I added additional lines, so we're cautiously optimistic for the rest of the day. The last of this should be past us in just a few hours.

The part that is pulled out is the mount / bracket for the mainsail outhaul sheave. The outhaul line is internal, with a second block inside the boom for additional purchase. That line exits the boom near the mast.
The block that is on the port side of the boom is for the topping lift. Our E31 has a topping lift that can be adjusted using a line that runs alongside the boom.

 

[Solarken]

I have never seen one like that. I’m 32-2 with a 13’6” boom. No topping lift. Just the boom vang.

looks like your docks are a mess!