Papoose Boom Project

Not knowing the rules we went inside Anita Rock Buoy to grab the favorable current. This was pointed out to us by another boat. Ignoring the advice of my lawyer, I gybed to go and undo the string. Unfortunately, we did a few things wrong in the process. We left the preventer on and pulled in on the mainsheet. This resulted in a loud noise after which the bottom 6 feet of the boom sat on deck. We retired from the race at that point. The photos below show the rebuild of the boom. Basically, I scarfed in several sections of spruce using 12:1 joints. The joint was cut with a router on a fixture of wedges made out of 2x4s. Enjoy.

---

Here is the damage


A little closer view of damage


Site of Vang attachment. Noticed how it missed the main blocking


Foward extent of crack


Matching piece ripped out and boom


The Vang itself


Close up


Close up of both pieces

And the repair begins.

Scarf in boom awaiting the new piece. This scarf was cut with a router passing back and forth over the boom. I made a guide out of 2x4's that had the 12:1 slope. I then used the same guide to cut the fresh piece so they would match. The router had a long base screwed to it so that it would rest on the guide rails as it was moved back across the wood to be cut.


The new piece ready to glue in


Everything glued and clamped. I didn't have enough clamps so I nailed the joint. I pulled the nails after the glue dried. I should have used better nails as they broke when pulling and had to be dug out. Actually, I should have used more clamps.


View of 3 main pieces in finished shape


View at aft end of assembly


Top view of aft joint


Nail holes sealed


Small piece inserted


Forward end


Waiting for the paint to dry -- done