Boom Stiffener

[Jonathan Howell]

I have an old top section that has a high risk of failing on me. It's the kind with 2 pop rivets in the sleeve, so there's no way to rotate it to reduce strain on those holes. I'm considering making a spare boom out of it.

I used to be able to convert a top section into a boom by through bolting the various hardware on (eyes, sheet blocks, vang, end caps, etc), but as I remember an extra piece of tubing was inserted into the boom to stiffen the area around the vang. Does anyone else remember this? I called West Coast Sailing and the person I spoke with had never heard of such a thing.

It's been around 2 decades since I was sailing Lasers/ILCAs and a lot has changed since then. Is this one of those changes? It's either that or my memory pills aren't working as they should.

Jonathan
Technical Wizardry

Dare Mighty Things

I am bicycling 80 miles to support research to eradicate Parkinson's Disease. Will you support me? 

https://give.michaeljfox.org/jonathanh

[Stephen Aguilar]

Your memory about the insert is good . West coast did sell this item.  Probably still have them.

So your memory about that is good dont know about  the rest of it.

--
Discussion forum for International Laser Class Association District 24, covering northern California and Nevada. Topics should include all things Laser (ILCA) and not idle chit chat which should be taken offline from this forum. This site is rated PG.
--
To join this group, email:
international-laser-class-ass...@googlegroups.com
--
To email this group:
international-laser-clas...@googlegroups.com
--
To mute this conversation:
On web Gmail: press m
On the Gmail mobile app, select ... > Mute
--
District 24 Google calendar:
bit.ly/d24-calendar
--
District 24 website:
bit.ly/d24-home
--
View past discussions here:
bit.ly/d24-group
--
Get 10% off West Coast Sailing https://westcoastsailing.net/d24
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ILCA District 24" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to international-laser-class-asso...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/international-laser-class-association-district-24/CAPT-Q%2B42fzwno6LH9FhcrrDDDvQ1qVzAONqmq2D67quX%2BEQakg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Tracy Usher]

I bet with the conversion to composite uppers they don’t get many people asking to convert a broken (or about to break) aluminum upper to a boom. So the young people there likely think your are some ancient lunatic. 

I might have a sleeve in my garage… when I can get off my rear I will go look. No guarantee… 

On Mar 9, 2026, at 4:39 PM, 'Jonathan Howell' via ILCA District 24 <international-laser-clas...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



--

[Stephen Aguilar]

By the way Jonathan  you filp the upper not rotate it then fill the old holes  with rivets. I had a couple of boom made 5 or 6 years ago I'll ask the guy who did it if he has one.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/international-laser-class-association-district-24/459F7D2A-9D00-41ED-A0F7-D9F8727A5927%40gmail.com.

[Rickattahoe]

What hasn't changed is that you still sail well. :-).  

Rick Raduziner

CA/NV Real Estate

Sierra Sotheby's International Realty

530-308-1628

Ri...@TahoeRick.com 

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 9, 2026, at 5:01 PM, Tracy Usher <tracy...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/international-laser-class-association-district-24/459F7D2A-9D00-41ED-A0F7-D9F8727A5927%40gmail.com.

[Al Sargent]

"Ancient Lunatic" -- good name for a boat.

Yes, I've bought a couple of these boom stiffeners back in the day. Put one into an aluminium practice top section. It still broke. Mentioning this in case you are thinking of doing the same idea.

Best regards,
 
Al

asar...@stanfordalumni.org | +1 650 269 2176

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/international-laser-class-association-district-24/D660020C-0C2A-4F0B-8470-6147FD7826E3%40gmail.com.

[Jonathan Howell]

Al: if my boat didn't already have a name, I would claim "Ancient Lunatic" - it suits me so well.

Stephen: That's a great idea! Flipping the top section is much easier than building a boom. Thanks!

Tracy: thanks for the offer. If you find any to spare, I'd be happy to buy it/them from you.

Rick: Gosh, thank'ee.

 

Jonathan
Technical Wizardry

Dare Mighty Things

I am bicycling 80 miles to support research to eradicate Parkinson's Disease. Will you support me? 

https://give.michaeljfox.org/jonathanh