i bought a second hand x9 carbon boom with a loose head (aware of this on purchase) yesterday. I chatted with a guy at afterward on beach with same issue, obviously very common issue and they have fixed it in the new model anyway.

Here is my fix.

I used medical thermoplastics which heats molds at about 65-70 degrees, this is a) easy to work with and secondly and b) most importantly i could make a template and keep it to this without the risk of resin spillage. The materials do cost a lot for large sheets but the minimal area i used was a very cheap, quick and perfect fix. It allows the up down movement but no lateral movement.

This is the material i use to hold fractured bones together so super strong and as i said no mess!!!

If anyone else is keen let me know and i can always sell you some and give you my template. One cut out it took approx 2mins to fix. The material is floppy in boiling water.

My only test will be to ensure that in direct sunlight that the materials does not go above 65 degrees.

Overall a cheap boom, cheap fix, perfect end result. Now to sail with it and test it :)


loose head laterally
template cut out


wrapped it around
May do a redo just to make it a little more cosmetic. Can always use black if you would prefer but i dont have the black one.

This material is 3mm thermoplastic, probably or definitely not what it was designed for but hey it works. Better than tape, fibreglass or other temporary fixes i have heard about.

fixed NO lateral movement

is this one of those articulating boom heads? i.e. the clamp moves up and down in relation to angle of boom eyelet?

yes that correct.. swivels but no longer moves side to side !!

Good work Darren! These are awesome booms - now you have a fix for the head you'll do well to pick up all the cheap ones and add your modification. I've also seen these with a "streamlined" head which seems to work pretty well too - but your idea is cheaper and probably easier.

The other option is undo the head, paint on some resin with a brush, wrap some fibreglass matting around, re-apply resin to wet out matting.
Let resin set.
Bolt head back on.
Tighten.
Click, Bang Done.
If you make a hot enough mix with the resin, it's all done in the space of about 20 minutes.