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 Post subject: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 11:12 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Just had my first outing for a couple of months and wanted to try out some mod’s that I made over winter. I never really thought about a barber hauler or a boom until I saw ‘rokraiders’ design. I always thought that they were just another bit of useless gear that will just get in the way of more important gear at a critical moment.
Last Sunday was sunny and 5-10knots which was ideal conditions to test it out and I must say it proved to be a bit of kit that will now be standard on my AI as it finished up doing more than expected.
Please forgive the poor video. This was my very first attempt at installing the new flexi-boom so trying to hold the camera while inserting the female ends of the boom onto the male shafts was a bit of a struggle ( and I can’t be bothered going through the video editing palaver ).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVrLIBqztsc[/youtube]


The design uses a fibreglass tent pole kit and one of those ‘S’ shaped hooks ( what do you call them? ) attached to the sail. At the mast end I fabricated up a Stauff bracket ( from most hydraulic stores ) with a cut down bolt welded to the back plate. I assembled 3 of the poles with the bungee shock cord up the middle and ended the poles with females connectors at both ends. The Stauff bracket is positioned around the mast just below the bottom of the sail with the bar pointing out in line with the sail. And that’s it. Although some rope attachments would pull the sail down slightly, it wasn’t really needed and I found that because I was only in low wind conditions and furling wasn’t going to be required until I came back to shore, I finished up leaving it attached and still using it whilst tacking. When it’s not required, you can either collapse it to 1/3 the length ( just like tent poles ) and stick it in the fishing rod holes in the hull, or attach an aluminium clip to the pole and clip it to the Aka pin bungee as I have done in the video clip. If anyone is interested in pole diameter and lengths please reply and I’ll measure as I can’t remember the sizes off the top of my head but I found that the poles I chose were spot on for flexibility.

Thanks ‘rokraider’ for the initial design idea which you may have pinched from someone else in true Hobie fashion. :lol:

Question: To all you sailing tech heads. What is the true definition of this ? Is it a barber hauler or boom or something else ?

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:07 am 
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Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:07 pm
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Location: Saint Johns, Florida
Sure looks like a boom to me.

I wonder if the rods will last if you get into a strong gust when heading downwind.

Can you post a close up of the Stauff bracket?

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:36 am 
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Hi Jerry. So is it called a barber hauler when only one end is connected to the sail and the other is free to hold ? And when both ends are fixed, as this is, it's a boom. Well that's the defininitions I keep coming up with !

As far as strength goes, it's just a guess, but I'm hoping that if it does fail the bungee will hold it together. The larger diameter rods seemed a bit too stiff.

Yeah, we use Stauff brackets for attaching hydraulic pipes at work and I've now used then all over the AI for attaching various stuff like camera mounts etc. Hope this helps.

http://www.au.stauff.com/fileadmin/Down ... nglish.pdf

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 6:14 am 
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Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:54 pm
Posts: 125
Location: Canyon Lake, Tx
Looks like a "Whisker pole" to me...used on a jib on boats that have jibs...it keeps the jib flying in light winds sailing off the wind or running down wind "wing and wing"...

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:28 am 
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Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 5:02 am
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Location: Sydney - Parramatta
That's a ripper. Best post some dimensions... :D
I'm seeing a shopping trip in my future...

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:10 am 
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Hi CGM, howz it go'n.

Yeah, I was pretty impressed that such a cheap simple mod could make such a difference.

Details as follows:

Rod dia. - 12mm
Boom length - 2175mm ( 3 poles assembled with female connectors both ends )
Big W - $10
Stauff bracket - $5 ( You'll have to measure the mast dia. yourself at the Hobie logo. I left my verniers at work )

Hope this helps mate.

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:13 pm 
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Location: Saint Johns, Florida
Slaughter wrote:
Hi Jerry. So is it called a barber hauler when only one end is connected to the sail and the other is free to hold ? And when both ends are fixed, as this is, it's a boom. Well that's the defininitions I keep coming up with !


To be honest I din't have a clue what a barber hauler is so I did a little search.

Went to http://www.sailinglinks.com/glossary.htm and found these definitions:

Barber Hauler - A line attached to the jib or jib sheet, used to adjust the angle of sheeting by pulling the sheet toward the centerline of the boat.

Boom - free swinging spar attached to the foot of the sail with forward end pivoting on the mast.

Whisker Pole - A short spar, normally kept stowed, which may be used to push the clew of a jib away from the boat when the boat is running downwind.

They did not list a spinnaker pole but they are normally stronger than a whisker pole and have identical fittings on both ends.

After all that I still say you made a boom.

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:24 pm 
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Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:00 pm
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Location: Port Macquarie, Australia
Boom - a free swinging spar that goes "BOOM" when it connects with your head! :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:09 pm 
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
That's one of the reasons I made it so flexible. The first sign of it attacking my head and it gets the the heave ho. In fact if I was to make a design mod, I would increase the angle of the bar welded to the Stauff backing plate. Then the boom would bend up rather than down and follow the curvature of the bottom of the sail.

Jerry - I agree. Either that or it's the new 'Barber Boom Whisker Hauler Pole'

Max - You were think'n of doing something similar wern't you ? P.S. The video you posted recently came up good hey. I watched it and listened to a bit of Neil Young while eating my veggie on toast on Sunday morning. It got me motivated to get out on the water in the arvo.

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:23 pm 
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Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:00 pm
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Location: Port Macquarie, Australia
Glad Neil got ya out, Slaughter! 8)

Yes, I have toyed with the idea of a boom... and how to fabricate it to follow the sail curvature. Going to think some more on that though, not too keen to bugger up the sheer simplicity of the rig, especially now that I realise how often I'll be furling and unfurling in a blow.

Maybe I'll just fantasise about a waterproof stereo system instead... :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:37 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
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Location: Kailua 96734
Slaughter wrote:
Jerry - I agree. Either that or it's the new 'Barber Boom Whisker Hauler Pole'

Max - You were think'n of doing something similar wern't you ? P.S. The video you posted recently came up good hey. I watched it and listened to a bit of Neil Young while eating my veggie on toast on Sunday morning. It got me motivated to get out on the water in the arvo.

Slaughter, best "whisker pole" idea yet.

Also best to give that vegemite time to settle before heading out on the water. :mrgreen:
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For those in the states who have not had the pleasure, it's concentrated yeast extract. Gooey paste that tastes like "an extreme mixture of salt and battery acid". Like ambrosia on toast to an Aussie.

Gave it a burl and almost carked it.

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:35 pm 
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Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:00 pm
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Location: Port Macquarie, Australia
:lol: Nohuhu, you're a brave man! Did you try it on Spam? According to the source of all universal knowledge (the web): "It’s a well-known fact that Hawaiians love Spam".


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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:43 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:21 pm
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Location: Central Florida
captain-max wrote:
"It’s a well-known fact that Hawaiians love Spam".
You can order Spam & eggs here at any McDonalds for breakfast.

And we even have a secret spam warehouse, so we don't run out during and natural or man made catastrophe!

mmmmm

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:18 pm 
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Location: Kailua 96734
Sure do - They start us at an early age, just like ya'll.
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Love SPAM for breakfast, but never before a bumpy boat ride. Goes double for Vegemite.
Slaughter brought back memories of my "Chunder Down Under" a few years back...

To put it more poetically:

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover!"

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 Post subject: Re: Flexi-Boom Design
PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:30 am 
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
It's weird hey. I don't know any Australians that don't like Vegimite, and I don't know any non Austaralians that do. How could we be so right :roll:
But as far a discusting stuff ya stick in ya mouth, Vegimite and Spam pale into insignificance compared to Dr Pepper. 'What's go'n on there ?'

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