help_outline Skip to main content

ECA Logo Version 11 

Slideshow
Header Slideshow
Add Me To Your Mailing List

Ensign Sailing Forum

Boom Cap/Gooseneck replacement
Author Last Post

I should probably take you up on that…


Should I shoot an email to info@ensignspars?


Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Machine screw  10/24 pan head and tap the casting with never seize. 

I have plenty of screws and can coat with some never seeze if you need them. 

Zeke



Follow up question: what is the correct type of screw to use to install the cap?


I’m assuming that a pilot hole will be involved; placement is not an issue with holes in the extrusion from the old one, but it’d be great to know what size pilot hole and screw size/thread I’m looking for.



THANKS!

Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Thanks, Zeke - that settles a lot of questions!





Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

I actually heard from Chad Lewis that if the new fitting does not match the boom, then I have the wrong boom!

I guess I should get a clarification from him as to whether they are interchangeable? Or perhaps the information that I got about there being a 3 1/2 inch spar extrusion may be suspect.

2. 1/2 inch wide and either 3 1/2 or 4 inch down the center of the contour. Naturally you subtract if measuring at the forward end of the boom where the sail slot is cut out. There were 2 boom extrusions. Later boats had the 4 inch. 

Zeke 

I'm still curious about the size differences between your old cap and the new one from ensignspars. Do you have some calipers to measure width and height of each or get them to lay flat on some paper to trace the profile? Might need to drill a hole in sheet of wood so you can get the old cap to sit flat on a surface.

I see what you guys are saying, but the amount of play in there with new vs old is just a bit…. daunting; it seems like I should be able to bolt the new fitting into place and get a generally “pretty good” fit. I’m sure it wouldn’t budge once anchored…. but it would definitely leave portions of the extrusion unsupported up closer to the track. So it may be one of those things where it wouldn’t budge.. until it broke.


I guess I don’t have the experience with these things to feel well-positioned to judge what’s truly Good Enough.


Bias Disclaimer: It’s not just the dramatic failure of the old pin that has me spooked. I grew up sailing & racing about 9,000’ higher than we are now; I recall one year at the Open when I think 8 of the Ensigns lost their masts… Something like that… I’m a little sketchy on details because we lost our own stick that day when a spreader failed. Blowing 55 knots, if I recall correctly, with gusts maybe into the 70s? I guess once you’ve seen a Hobie Cat cartwheel out of the water without even pitch-poling, it alters your perspective…


So basically I’m eyeballing that 50 YO boom and wondering what might go next?


And now that I’ve seen the sticker on the beefier (4025) cap & gooseneck…. Egad!

Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Can you describe what isn’t fitting? is it the tolerance that you wish tighter? The fit can only be so tight when you’re dealing with cast aluminum vs an extrusion. Also, all the forces are going to be pressing the boom into mast, so as long as the boom seats nicely into the new cap I feel like you’re good.




Well, it’s one of those things… You could say that it “fits” in the boom, but there is something of a “5 pound of potatoes in a 10 pound sack“ factor at work.


It’s close enough to be tempting, but what we have is clearly the 4“ x 2.5“ version of the boom, and there is really no way that I can talk myself into going with something which is clearly not the correct fit. If Rig-Right thought they were interchangeable, they wouldn’t bother to make both.


So what I’m looking at at this point is a 50-year-old boom which is clearly much more massive than it really needs to be AND which has been in a salt environment for the past 43 years. External, stainless bits all look good-as-new, but the outhaul is looking a bit rough, especially the Internals… And the outhaul lines are probably original….


If I can extract the roller-furling pin from the old cap, it’d make sense to me to replace the one part and call it good.


Otherwise, it may be time to go BOAT-ing….


Nuts.


Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Hi Matt-


I have some recent experience with this. Mine broke in the same place at the beginning of last season. I replaced it with a new one from Ensign Spars. It fits and functions just fine.


I echo Bryce's comment: If it fits in your boom, you should be in good shape.


Cheers!


jp

Hey Vic, the images that MHB posted are visible to me via e-mail as attachments and visible on the ensignclass webiste as attachments to his post. The problem might be on your end? issue with your mail app or web browser? hard to say.

.jpg and .jpeg are interchangeable and inconsequential.


As for the boom end cap - I was also looking to replace mine this winter, but ended up just grabbing PP M5A and PP B4 from rigrite Here. Everything else in the assembly was still serviceable.


I figured my boom to be the 4025 variety as the 2.5"x4" measurements match up with my measurements. This also appears to be that same extrusion as my mast.


If the new end cap assembly from esignspars slots into your boom. You're good to go. The ensignpsars version just deleted to rolling furler assembly, which was never great from what I've read. If the new endcap from esnignspars is too big, then maybe you have a smaller extrusion and see if any of there others match up for you:

https://rigrite.com/Spars/Pearson_Spars/pearson_Booms.php


These are the images I tried to post, so now we’re up to a jpeg, a jog and a png



Very odd… When I first put up the post, I attached two images, which show up as one .jpeg and one .jpg


But I took a screenshot of what I see on my phone screen, and that should be attached to this post - as a .png, as it turns out.


Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Matt,


I don't see any links in the message I received by email, or when I look at the message in the Forum section of the website. When you say you can see the kinks, is that in the message you received from the Forum, or the message you sent to the Forum?


If anyone else CAN see the links, please post a message here.


Also, Matt, please tell me what the file type of the images. We have been having some issues with new image file types used by Apple but not yet adopted by other companies.


Vic

Thanks, Vic - can you see the images I uploaded with the original post? I see links at the bottom of the thread, but not sure what’s visible to anyone else…


The original cap has a stout pin through it with a spring so that the boom could be pulled away from the gooseneck a bit. I’ve got a dose of rust blaster in there in hopes that I can extract the pin, but I don’t expect it’ll be replaceable..


Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Matt,

 

I don’t see any photos attached to the message I received. What was the format of the photos you attached?  They should ideally be jpg’s or jepg’s.

 

As for the boom. Zeke is the person most likely to know the answer to your question, but in the meantime, you are right about the spars. They are not unique to the Ensign.

 

One place to look for spars and perhaps boom caps is rigrite, https://www.rigrite.com/index.php. They have a number of spar extrusions, so if you carefully measure your boom you may find a match at rigrite. If you find an extrusion that matches your boom, but do not find a matching boom cap, I would contact them to see what they suggest.

 

Vic Roberts, #2032

 

I received an email indicating that there are two different designs out there as a change was made at one point. I have attached pictures of the current Ensign Spars model and the one that we have which is broken… Sounds as though I probably have one apple and one orange.


So the first question… Is it safe to assume that they are not interchangeable?


And does anyone know if there is a generic fit boom cap which would get us back in business?


To be honest, I can’t imagine that the spar itself is unique to the Ensign - just seems like the sort of thing that they would manufacture by the mile and cut to length per order - so I am hopeful that this might be something that I can find elsewhere.


Here’s hoping, anyway!







Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Busted the 50-YO cast aluminum boom cap and ordered a replacement from Ensign spars.


They’re not identical, and I’m a bit concerned that the spec on the spar itself might have changed over the years… Don’t want to install the new part if it’s undersized and would place all of the strain on a few screws.


To be honest, I’m not sure if the boom is vintage 1972 or somewhat later, as the mast was replaced late ‘70s/early’80s after an incident at Nationals… but I don’t know why a boom would need replacement after the mast had failed….


Any thoughts?


Matt Bailey

#1473 TEETEETOO

Return to Forum
Sponsor Number URL address
Sponsor 1 https://www.quantumsails.com/en/default
Sponsor 2 http://www.triadtrailers.com/
Sponsor 3 http://www.ussailing.org
Sponsor 4 http://www.northsails.com
Sponsor 5 http://www.spectrumphotofg.com
Sponsor 6 http://www.defender.com
Sponsor 7 http://www.ensignspars.com
Sponsor 9 http://www.patterson-marine.com
Sponsor 10 https://stores.coralreefsailing.com/ensign_class/shop/home
Sponsor 11 https://zbloksun.com/

ENSIGN CLASS Sponsors