Opti-mazation

Little Johnny and Susie wanted to learn to sail, and you did the right thing by enrolling them in your club’s sailing program. They met friends, enjoyed summer days on the water, and over time, progressed through the ranks of the program. You weren’t much of a racer, mostly spending time gunkholing about the local coves, but you would join your pals for an occasional beer can race. Your kids, on the other hand, were really into it. They trained with the Optimist racing program at your club, and starting to travel to local events. They were getting pretty good, but their gear was holding them back.

While at dinner one night, Johnny said, “Dad,” I think I need a new Optimist boom. I am getting killed in the breeze, which makes no sense since I am heavier now. My coach thinks that the 32mm section is bending too much now, and that for my weight I need a stiffer tube. The way I am growing, I am now worried that moving up to the 40mm isn’t going to last too long either. Can we call up the dealer and get a 45mm section on order?”

Dad had dropped his fork, hearing his son talk metric, and wondering whatever happened to this simple, four-cornered, junior trainer that his kids had learned to sail in. Au contraire my dear, the Optimist has gone high tech, with boom stiffness now being matched to sailor size. Here is the scoop from the McLaughlin Fall 2007 Newsletter, which discusses the reasoning why they offer four different diameters of booms:

“In wind under about 8 mph boom bend makes little difference because you do not sheet hard. But as the wind increases, the smaller diameter booms can be flexed (bent) more easily then the larger ones. When the boom bends the bottom of the sail flattens and the leach of the sail opens up or falls off spilling a portion of the wind. The wind does not create this bend entirely. The bend comes mostly from trimming and hiking hard.

“Assuming you trim and hike hard, skippers less than 80 pounds will benefit from the smallest 32 mm boom. The 40 mm boom is the standard and covers a broad range of weights, strength and ability (from under 80 to over 90 lbs.) Most sails are cut and tested with this boom. The 45 and 55 mm booms help heavier skippers get the most out of strong winds by not bending and therefore keeping the sail at full power. The new 45 mm boom was designed for skippers in the 80 to 100 pound range. While the 55 helps the heaviest of skippers 100 and up. Another benefit of the 55 mm boom is it is so stiff that no bridle is required in most conditions. This allows for more headroom so tall skippers are less encumbered while tacking.

“This is an over simplification of the science of booms. Personal strength, style of sailing, waves, chop, sail cut, and coach’s personal preferences come into play as well. There are always trade offs, like the fact that the smaller booms have thick wall sections for strength. While all the booms are pretty close in weight, the small boom actually is heavier. Who would have thought that?”-- Newsletter link