i broke my 5 year old mast last week at the boom.

i heard it crack the previous time out when i accidently over tightened the boom.

every mast i break bar one has broken at the boom.

WARNING tighten the boom very slowly until barely enough pressure is applied to stop boom from slipping.

RDM masts that come with those forgotten the word, that attach to the mast, should help spread the load.

Rdms don't need delicate treatment. Its the high carbon sdms that you have to be careful with. I have resorted to slipping a sheath of bicycle inner tube over the boom clamp bits that hinge around the back of the mast. The boom stays put without a lot of tension.

Its odd that most boom designs get this wrong. Its the hingy bit that goes around the back of the mast that does most of the work. Outhaul tension puts most of the bearing stress through this bit. It should be beefy but the hinges are usually pretty flimsy and they often have no grippy surface. They depend on over tightening to stop them slipping.

easty said...

I've always wondered if there's any difference between attaching the boom clamp before or after fully downhauling. Any ideas on this?

I put the boom on before down-hauling, but leave it unclamped. Then I down haul, then get boom into the right spot before closing the clamp.
It's actually easire to apply downhaul if you clamp teh boom and outhaul first, like pulling teh string to bend a bow. North Sails riggin instructions used to say that was the way to go, but I can't be botehred. I just pull on the downhaul until the sail looks the way I want it to.