Is a carbon boom worth it?

paulf. · Joined: 21 Mar 1996 Posts: 435

after an alu boom that looked perfectly fine exploded from inside out corrosion, fortunately on the inside jibe and not the outside, i've never gone back. i'm not otherwise hard on equipment, only matters if you're sailing salt water.

whitevan01 · Joined: 29 Jun 2007 Posts: 607

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

I think the gap has closed between the two because of tech changes, while the carbon price has gone up. It doesn't seem worth it anymore.
Most comments against carbon, like Chandler, are referring to two piece alum booms ,or booms from 1991. Lol.
The Pro ones and other one piece alum booms from Aeron under different labels have closed the gap on stiffness and are not reporting corrosion problems.
The tech on carbon has not moved along like it has with monocoque alum.
We keep our sails rigged year round and do not rinse salt water off them .
Not one has given us trouble in years of this usage with modern monocoque alum.
We went to this after our North and later Fiberspar carbon booms snapped mid arm.

The OP ask for comparisons between mono alu and modern carbon. Most folks responding are telling us about antique boom designs.

A renter who was sure that carbon is much better took the HPL alu boom because it looked different from the alu Chinook ones.
He thought the HPL was carbon.

We let him rave for a week about the huge difference he felt from the alu booms he was forced to take when the HPL was in use.

I find this often among those who are sure there is a big difference in feel with carbon. You just need to think the boom is carbon to get the same improvement in feel on small. Sails.

If you sail gear under 6.0 you should think of things that carbon money can buy, like a ticket to Maui or a ABK clinic. Those things can make a real difference in your sailing.

BoomBra · Joined: 22 May 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Galveston

Thanks for your inputs.

Largest sail I have is a 5.8 and spend the majority of the time bump & jump and in waves.

Still on the fence; I may try to borrow a carbon boom. Its probably the only way to really know if its right for me.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

That's a great idea. Try, though, not to let a great or lousy session distort your evaluation.

norcom · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 137

You can get a 170-230 carbon Maui Sails boom for $525 form these guys. http://www.nbwindsurfing.com/2011-Maui-Sails-Carbon-Boom_p_297.html That's where I bought mine from.

KevinDo · Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 426 Location: Cabrillo Inside

whitevan01 · Joined: 29 Jun 2007 Posts: 607

KevinDo · Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 426 Location: Cabrillo Inside

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

"The tech on carbon has not moved along like it has with monocoque alum."

Maybe you missed the fact that most quality carbon booms these days are monocoque too. And, if I remember correctly, monocoque booms were first manufactured in carbon. The Maui Sails carbon boom I bought in early 2007 is still rock solid, and I have to say that mine came with the shim at no extra cost.

As I pointed out earlier, aluminum has been a repeated problem for me. Even after my abandonment of aluminum booms in early 1992, the Gulftechs (made in Corpus Christi, TX) that I relied on for the next 10 years had the aluminum tubing inside the bonded-on front ends. As a result, it was the weak link in an otherwise great design. It's a fact, aluminum corrodes over time. Add in that aluminum is subject to fatigue from stress, so its dependability factor takes a hit. There's no question about it, carbon provides a stiffer structure overall that isn't readily subject to corrosion and fatigue.

That said, I will say that a monocoque design has greatly improved the potential life and stiffness of aluminum booms. There is less likelihood of water getting inside the front boom arms, but you still can't escape the fact that aluminum is subject to stress fatigue. Also, it should be noted that monocoque aluminum boom significantly edged up the price, so that they can be almost one half the price of carbon booms.

The way that I see it, you get what you pay for. If you have a history of being easy on booms, you can potentially find aluminum booms to be a great value. However, given the fact that we ultimately have to live with our decisions and the consequences, I'll happily pony up for what is arguably a better product.