Dutchman Boom Brake

[John Gardner]

Since I sail single handed quite a bit, I have bought a Dutchman Boom Brake to try to ease the problem/worry of distance between the helm and the main sheet/traveller while running downwind.

The scheme I have temporarily rigged is to put the brake on the foremost bail on the boom - in a permanent installation I would change the mainsheet block for one with a becket.  The rope leads from the base of one aft main stay to a block on the opposite stay and aft to a cleat at the side of the cockpit by the helm.

My one trial so far was not entirely successful.  I could lock the boom in position - that was OK,  but a controled jibe was not so good - the boom juddered across - not at all smooth.

If you have one, how do you rig it and set it up?  How effective do you find it to be?

John Gardner, Severn River, Chesapeake Bay.

[Mike Smith]

John -

I was on a race to Isla Mujeres from Pensacola a few years back and the owner of the boat had just bought a boom brake. Try as we could, we couldn't get it to work. Sometimes these gadgets just don't.

Mike

Mike and Jan Smith
S/V Breezer WCX8545
www.mikejansmith.com

[Fulvio]

I have one and since I singlehand a lot  , I find it the second most successful purchase I made, after the Monitor windvane.
It works great for me.

Like you, I have the two lateral blocks tied to the aft mainstay chainplates.  Unlike you, I use two blocks, so I can tension the line on either side.  Usually I put it on the windward winch (since I only have the one pair of 46s, I might install a second pair of smaller ones aft of those, for the chute or for the boombrake).  The temporary bitter end goes on a cleat on the leeward headrail-mounted track.  After I jibe or tack, switching sides is easy, although this setup could be improved.

However, probably the biggest difference to your setup is that I did not put the brake on the foremost bail on the boom.  Instead, I put it on the bail just aft of the (rigid) boom vang top.  There used to be a mainsheet block on that bail, which I moved back to the next bail.  Now there are two mainsheet blocks sharing that bail, which does not look so pretty, but they do not really interfere, so I do not worry about that.  

I believe that the longer distance from the mast gives the brake a larger lever, which might be the key to making it work.

As I said, I'm quite happy with it, although I would still make a few improvements.  One thing I'm not too sure about is the suitability of the chainplates to the occasional large side load.  When I pulled the chainplates to rebed them recently, the STBD aft one had a slight bend.

Fulvio Casali
Seattle WA
Soliton
#929 (1989)

[Seabiscuit]

I just wanted to add a comment on the Dutchman Boom Brake here. The effectiveness of a boom brake is certainly all about the setup. I called the manufacturer, and they are very knowledgeable and provide excellent advice for making the system work well. They discussed positioning on the boom further aft to improve leverage (as mentioned above), positioning of the deck attachments forward enough to ensure proper line tensioning as the boom swings, and strength of the line stoppers used aft. They seem to be an excellent company.

[Ron Hill]

John : What I used is a 4:1 line vang and attached the one end to a snap shackle on the base of a stanchion.  I never tried to jibe it!!  I would slowly just let the line run out of a cam cleat on the lower block and slowly change the heading of the boat.

A thought