Would there be any great drawbacks if i were to use a Gaastra 100% carbon 'wave' boom for flat water speed sailing? Is there much difference in shape between types of booms people use or is it personal preference?

I assume a wave boom would have a narrower profile which may mean the deeper slalom sails would be touching the boom too much. My wave booms are very narrow.

I assume the same as BenKirk, as a generalisation. You'd really need to check the boom is wide enough for your sail.

Most speed sails work best with heaps of draught, a narrow boom will prevent this.

Presumably wave booms are also stronger, so if you're prone to catapults and busting booms, the wave boom may be better if it's wide enough.

It depends on what size sails you are using. In the smaller sizes you can't get a slalom boom small enough and you have to use a wave boom. I use a wave boom for most of my sails. The wave boom is narrower, so you can't get as deep a draft, the difference is about 2 cm on booms I have compared. I do like the shape of "new school" wave booms. They are particularly nice for sailing up wind.

I use an old fiberspar wave boom for 4.4, 5.0 and 5.4 Koncepts and it's not too narrow, but I replaced the tailpiece with a slalom one that is slightly larger and has pulleys for adjustable outhaul. I can bag the sail until it almost touches the harness lines. Btw the sail should always touch some of your boom otherwise the outhaul is too tight

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powersloshin said..

I use an old fiberspar wave boom for 4.4, 5.0 and 5.4 Koncepts and it's not too narrow, but I replaced the tailpiece with a slalom one that is slightly larger and has pulleys for adjustable outhaul. I can bag the sail until it almost touches the harness lines. Btw the sail should always touch some of your boom otherwise the outhaul is too tight

Yes, for smaller speed sails a wave boom with a wide tailpiece and pulleys for adjustable outhaul is the ideal solution for maximum draft and downwind speed.

I hate booms with a very wide tailpiece as many of the current slalom booms seem to have. I reckon it affects feel and maybe increases the Swingweight of the boom.

Go for the lightest and stiffest boom.

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petermac33 said..
I hate booms with a very wide tailpiece as many of the current slalom booms seem to have. I reckon it affects feel and maybe increases the Swingweight of the boom.

Go for the lightest and stiffest boom.

Or you could rig a sail with the correct downhaul and the sail will be feather light anyway.

Anyway back to booms

It doesn't look too narrow. I pretty much only use Koncepts now and their draught doesn't seem to be as deep as other sails like Severne.

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TheSailingMoose said..
It doesn't look too narrow. I pretty much only use Koncepts now and their draught doesn't seem to be as deep as other sails like Severne.

Well providing the pic has been taken square on to the boom so it's not foreshortened. I'd guess it will be OK.

I've dropped the photo into the gimp and it's 614pixels long, and at the 1/3 forward point (where draft is about max) it's 170pixels wide. So according to my calculator that over 14% draft. I'm not sure what the Koncepts are you'd have to measure on up.