It s a line I rarely check ,but should ,but its been 1 year since I did change it .but I think because of the 2 90% angles it should be on the list for changing more often ,as I was 2 klms off shore today and it broke after a good stack I might add ,,so floating around in 20-metre deep waters tying a knot with a dis connected sail with my legs hanging down was not my sense of fun ,luckily I leave the boom clamp string long as there was no way of budging the knot ,I was able to tie a knot in it to keep sailing for another sheepest hour wondering if I would need to fix it again ,not a good thought ,but it held on,
it's not a line I would change much ,but guess it sure does have a lot of pressure on it and the angle of the string would wear it more than a downhaul rope having such sharp 90 degree angle corners so it wore through but still looked ok from the outside so check your boom lines guys ,how often do you change the boom line.?

the knot that gave me 1 more hour sailing . Phew ,ace of ?? spades .

I check my lines a couple of times a year and the boom clamp line last much longer than my outhaul and downhaul lines. I'm getting two or more seasons out of it.

It's a nice idea to carry a piece of downhaul line. It has many uses including rescue!

Absolutely agree Tardy.

I love my enigma boom but it's getting on. The whole boom clamp fitting moves a fair bit and I've heard some creaks lately.
Is it easy enough to replace the front end?

I broke one at Lake George going pretty fast and got flung forward with my foot still in the front strap... resulted in a Lisfranc injury which put me off the water for a while......so yes, check them

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sboardcrazy said..
I love my enigma boom but it's getting on. The whole boom clamp fitting moves a fair bit and I've heard some creaks lately.
Is it easy enough to replace the front end?

Easy to replace, I've had 3 new heads on my enigma over its life so far. Found it a good idea to take a photo before pulling it all apart, makes for a good reference as the new bits go together.
Only other consideration is if the carbon has worn out, this might be contributing to the loose fit. If the new head is still loose when fully assembled you will need to build up the carbon surface, a couple of layers of 6oz/200gm surf cloth is usually enough.

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Brent in Qld said..

sboardcrazy said..
I love my enigma boom but it's getting on. The whole boom clamp fitting moves a fair bit and I've heard some creaks lately.
Is it easy enough to replace the front end?

Easy to replace, I've had 3 new heads on my enigma over its life so far. Found it a good idea to take a photo before pulling it all apart, makes for a good reference as the new bits go together.
Only other consideration is if the carbon has worn out, this might be contributing to the loose fit. If the new head is still loose when fully assembled you will need to build up the carbon surface, a couple of layers of 6oz/200gm surf cloth is usually enough.

Thanks.

Funny coincidence, but i had a quick check of my boom clamp rope (which I seldom think much about) before hitting the water yesterday and noticed a bit of wear. Five minutes to swap in a new piece and peace of mind on the water

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mr love said..
I broke one at Lake George going pretty fast and got flung forward with my foot still in the front strap... resulted in a Lisfranc injury which put me off the water for a while......so yes, check them

Bugger ,I sailed straight out to sea ,hadn't ocean sailed for 8 months so when way out ,but gybed then pumping to get on the plane then ping ,so not going that fast luckily ,amazing how we are just held together by a piece of string ,

loose head and creaking head Sue ,I would replace that for sure ,never did like a loose head even playing football ,makes it feel like a alloy boom ,and lose of power too,

Musorianin ,well done hope you left it a little bit long for knots ,:-)

Mr Love - ouch. I think I was close to that situation one day overpowered. Lost balance and was being pulled into unintentional bear away leaning over leeward with back foot stuck, got it out last second luckily. Scary.

Tardy - so how did you get back, you had some line? I imagine it would be hard to change at sea.
Is that formuline you use in boom clamp? Thought I heard somewhere not to use it so it can snap rather than break boom clamp
Saw a fella snap boom clamp line in a crash at green island. New line and off he went again.

I am carrying two 1.8m lengths of 3.5mm line tucked into my harness.
I've heard about harness tows for broken fin.
Hope I remember and am calm enough to figure it out when / if it happens.

I leave lots of line on the clamp string and was able to tie a knot in it ,
but it was a bitch tying a knot out to sea ,but no choice ,it held so stayed out ,
had to dis connect sail from board sat on the board and done my thing ,lucky it was a 125 rocket so a floater ,
Even if I had line ,I could not get the knot out of the hole ,it was firm ,

I sail in a flat bay where sharks live and a current that can suck out to sea, part of the reason i like big boards aswell.
I feel pretty safe on the 165ltr SLW. As long as it's not too windy and it turns into a kite if rig comes away. But it's rarely over 20kts seabreeze so it works well.
Tardy, do you carry much safety gear going to sea, vest, PLB, food water etc or take other measures like alert marine authorities of your intention or anything like that?

Damn good idea to stash a bit of line somewhere, (I use pocket on my impact/boyency vest) but anywhere will do even up the mast. I cary 3-4m of 6mm multi braid and a blade, in an emergency you can tie on a harness for a broken fin, re attach a harness hook, make a temporary harness line, jury rig a snapped UJ/Bogey, replace an out haul that's snapped, or a down haul, or a mast line or what ever or even get or give a tow home! Like the good Boy Scout be prepared!

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MobZ said..
I sail in a flat bay where sharks live and a current that can suck out to sea, part of the reason i like big boards aswell.
I feel pretty safe on the 165ltr SLW. As long as it's not too windy and it turns into a kite if rig comes away. But it's rarely over 20kts seabreeze so it works well.
Tardy, do you carry much safety gear going to sea, vest, PLB, food water etc or take other measures like alert marine authorities of your intention or anything like that?

vest ,and sail with a friend ,we keep and eye on each other ,I really should start to carry a phone ,so looking at water proof phone cases ,it was ok when we where younger ,but me and my friend are getting long in the tooth ,we have both ocean sailed for many years ,and only go out when it is flat ,

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sboardcrazy said..
I love my enigma boom but it's getting on. The whole boom clamp fitting moves a fair bit and I've heard some creaks lately.
Is it easy enough to replace the front end?

Hi

I have 3 enigma booms and had the same problem in them all.
After some seasons the boom starts to get loose
What i did is take the head off and put two layers of fiber glass around the boom and the put the head back and now is tight again

Cheers

yeps, also caught myself riding on one strand left at the boom, out of sight-out of mind indeed :)

Would make the case for a dyneema replacement round: all ropes outhaul, boom, downhaul (a potential sail-board separator if it fails) as some standard ropes provided with premium purchases -all ws gear nowadays :( - are nasty junk.

I broke the inhaul after a particularly decent wipeout. Incredibly fiddly to replace it on the water with the long 2m spare line I was carrying.

Now my inhaul is twice the length it needs to be, (long tail at the end) and if it snaps the spare length is right where it needs to be to replace it. Probably never break the inhaul again though.

Had one Ping at GB some time ago.
Lucky it was lowtide.
Swim n walk to beach = 40min.

I broke my at the end of a nautical mile run across Waterloo Bay. Typically it was to be my last run of the session. Luckily I was able to jury rig a loose connection with the remaining rope and sail slowly back to Wello. I now treat the rope like the tendon in my mast base and replace at the beginning of the season each year. Problem solved.

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mmilhazes said..

sboardcrazy said..
I love my enigma boom but it's getting on. The whole boom clamp fitting moves a fair bit and I've heard some creaks lately.
Is it easy enough to replace the front end?

Hi

I have 3 enigma booms and had the same problem in them all.
After some seasons the boom starts to get loose
What i did is take the head off and put two layers of fiber glass around the boom and the put the head back and now is tight again

Cheers

Thanks. A few people have mentioned that since I posted.. I'll have to do that before I go to lake George.