Hi all,

Was out on the water a few days ago and my North Sails 180-230 Gold boom completely failed where the aluminium section meets the boom end. Pretty disappointing considering its only 3 or 4 years old (Dad has some Chinooks from 94/95 that go strong in 25 to 30 knots!).

Upon further inspection, it appears that its the actual aluminium section that is part of the clamp/ front end that has failed. See this photo for an idea:

Those aluminium sections enter the circular section of the boom and its failed right where it meets the plastic if that makes sense.

So I'm just wondering if its possible to get that North sails part from somewhere? ANyone know a good place for norths parts, not just sails and the gear itself? Its the old style boom, not the new angular ones and I have seen them in various places but just can't remember where. Figured itd be better to save the money as its an aluminium/ carbon hybrid and don't want it to go to waste!

Cheers,
Max

Hello, Max,

You could try contacting North directly, asking if they service the front end and if so, its part number and who their Australian agent is who might be able to order it for you.

http://www.north-windsurf.com/eng/messages/contact

Otherwise it???s a second-hand boom to be robbed for parts or you could buy a new boom from a company who services their parts, like Chinook, Maui Sails or NP (and others).

Hope this helps (but why haven???t any Aussie North Sails outlets contacted you and offered help?).

Hey mate,

Appreciate the reply. I have already contacted north sails and they haven't replied. Very disappointing to be honest. Considering the high premium they demand for their products, you would hope they would provide sufficient customer service but evidently not.

If anyone knows the best place to source such a part, the information would be greatly appreciated!

I will not be recommending Norths products or purchasing them myself ever again.

Depending on the diameter, you could probably use another brand/generic head. I think the Chinook ones are meant to be able to fit other booms, and I think surf sail australia sell generic boom heads.

Just make sure you know the diameter of the tubes before you go too far.

I have found that that part is a common place to fail, at least for the booms I have broken. My pet theory is that its because I use the same boom on minimum extension some times and maximum at other times, and that's where it bends.

I still have the original two booms I started with, which I think have lasted because I never varied their lengths much. All the other booms where I have had one to cover a range of sails didn't seem to last. Now I went carbon, but coincidentally, WA stopped offering 30 knot winds too, so I haven't tried the small sails for a while.

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SailCoothara said..

Hey mate,

Appreciate the reply. I have already contacted north sails and they haven't replied. Very disappointing to be honest. Considering the high premium they demand for their products, you would hope they would provide sufficient customer service but evidently not.

If anyone knows the best place to source such a part, the information would be greatly appreciated!

I will not be recommending Norths products or purchasing them myself ever again.

Cheer up dude,

An alloy boom that's 4 years old has done alright by most standards..

Get a camera, use it, and post a picture of the actual part that's broken, not something similar you found on Google. And I guarantee somebody will have it.

I still don't understand exactly what you're looking for, I see the picture, it's not North, and there's at least 6 different parts that could break in that assembly. Yes I could read the vague description but I can't focus that hard.

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barn said..

SailCoothara said..

Hey mate,

Appreciate the reply. I have already contacted north sails and they haven't replied. Very disappointing to be honest. Considering the high premium they demand for their products, you would hope they would provide sufficient customer service but evidently not.

If anyone knows the best place to source such a part, the information would be greatly appreciated!

I will not be recommending Norths products or purchasing them myself ever again.

Cheer up dude,

An alloy boom that's 4 years old has done alright by most standards..

Get a camera, use it, and post a picture of the actual part that's broken, not something similar you found on Google. And I guarantee somebody will have it.

I still don't understand exactly what you're looking for, I see the picture, it's not North, and there's at least 6 different parts that could break in that assembly. Yes I could read the vague description but I can't focus that hard.

Ok thanks for that mate. Just to be clear, it hardly gets used. I don't get out often and I'm lucky if I get a day in per month so it really shouldn't be failing in a 15 knot northerly cruising across closed waters with hardly any chop. 4 years of use for you might be more like 15 years for me so everything has to be put in perspective. And like I said, dad has old chinooks that have lasted him a good 15 years and still go strong.

The aluminium itself has completely failed, basically substandard bending methods or materials. As I said in the first post, that photo was only to give an idea, but thanks for pointing out its not North. I did notice that.

Here's a photo for those who didn't understand what I meant..

surf sail australia in WA sell lots of spares and look to have a boom head of similar design. $60

$220 gets you a new mono boom from dieter at sunshine coast sailboards. go the mono...

It'll be interesting to see if the monotube design fatigues at the same area. I think they have another piece placed in there before they bend it, so maybe this sets up a stress point.

Anyway, I agree. For an aluminium boom, you might be better off just buying a new one, although I guess it depends on how much you want to spend and whether you are mechanically minded.

4 years olds, time for a new one

If its broken in one place guaranteed its gonna fail in others

Repairing booms is throwing good money away. If it failed on one side, there is bound to be a weakness elsewhere.
You know the answer for a quality boom, I weigh 120kg and my chinook boom takes an absolute pounding and still going strong after 4 years.
Never skimp on masts, booms and uni joints. They are the best way to guarantee a swim home if they fail.

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longwinded said...
Repairing booms is throwing good money away. If it failed on one side, there is bound to be a weakness elsewhere.
You know the answer for a quality boom, I weigh 120kg and my chinook boom takes an absolute pounding and still going strong after 4 years.
Never skimp on masts, booms and uni joints. They are the best way to guarantee a swim home if they fail.

Too true, im the same size as you and your gear gets punished, but if in doubt.... Replace it, because you deserve it

Cheers for the advice guys. I guess I just expected to get a little more out of it but I do respect what you're saying. On a university budget its not super easy to go and buy a new $200 boom but will save up for it.