I'm reviewing the Aluminium wave boom found here:http://www.loftsails.com/loftsails2005/booms.php
I bought this boom brand new from Padi for under $150.
Pros: Price. Price, price and price. Did I mention price?
Cons: It's cheap. But not that cheap.
Initial impressions:
Mast Clamp:
The clamp looks to be well made, it has a two 'wings' that grip the mast securely, and apparently you can use a skinny mast or normal mast without having to use an adapter. It also has the ability to swivel a bit, which apparently is common nowadays but is a step up from my old North boom. This means less bending moment on the mast, and less stress on the clamp, which are both good things.
The hole for the uphaul rope has square edges, which means that your uphaul rope will fray unless you do as I did and chamfer off the sharp edges with a knife before using it.
Length adjustment clips
I wasn't all that impressed with these clips. They don't feel all that secure when clipped in, although there's no force that would pop them out, and after using it for a session there was never any danger of them popping out. In fact when the sail is pulling on the clew the clips will become more secure, as the shear force on the pin will hold them in. But they still feel a little bit wobbly at first.
Length markings
These are really strange. You would expect the markings to correspond with the length of the boom, in other words, start at 145 and go to 205. Not so. These start at 0 and go to 60. So to get the right size you have to mentally add 145 to the measurement. If you're like me then you get a permanent texta out and mark the 160, 170, 180, 190 and 200 points, but you would expect the markings from the shop to correspond to boom lengths, without having to add a weird number like 145 to them.
Outhaul adjustment
This was a bit weird, as I'm used to the North system where you pull a loop through the clew of the sail and pop it over a round plastic bit, meaning you don't have to thread the rope through any pulleys. The Loft boom doesn't have this, meaning you have to thread the outhaul through the sail, around a pulley, back through the sail, and then through a cleat. It's an extra ten seconds rigging up, and a puzzling omission. Perhaps they didn't want to pay patent royalties for the North system? After using it it's no different to my downhaul adjustment so it's not that bad, but still a bit strange.
The boom also has some extra pulleys for an adjustable outhaul, should you ever feel the need to put one on. I can't imagine a wave sailor ever using one, but you never know.
Grip
The grip is fine. Not too grippy, just right. The boom is also a bit skinnier than my old North boom, after a full days sailing I wasn't feeling pumped or had the skin peeling from my hands, so it's all good.
Strength
It feels quite solid and strong, as you'd expect from a wave boom. It didn't bend or break.
Overall
I'm quite happy with this boom, and at under $150 I could buy two booms and still have some money left over compared to buying one Neil Pryde boom. It seems that this boom is targeted at people like me, in other words, tightar$es with old secondhand kit. I'll see how well it lasts, but if I lost it then I'd buy another Loft boom on the spot.
Haven’t used mine much (once only and its a new Slalom Carbon 175-235 cm)
Agree with the outhaul set up, bit confusing as to what how and why. Matt from sales gave me his set up, to sort it out.
But unusual to what I am used too (NP boom)
Boom clamp system is good, but has one draw back, if for some reason, you wish to move the boom up or down on the mast while sail is rigged,(set it up wrong at the start) the outhaul needs to be let off first, other wise the clamp wrap around sections spread far enough to butt up against each other instead of the folding over system when re-clamping it, as it is designed for. Easing off the outhaul takes the tension off and the clamp then wraps correctly.
Four movement/adjustment needed now. Clamp off, out haul off, clamp on outhaul on. Not a big issue, but a trap for new players like me.
I have the next size up loft boom and it seems to compare well to the other booms I have had or used over the years - north, gaastra, fanatic, MK and it is so much better than a cheap Sunshine boom i bought from Sunshine Sailboards somewhere in QLD.
Put simply, it works and it's a great price.
As for the measurements all the booms i have owned work like this, I've never had a boom that says "the boom is now at 183cm".
you will ifnd just about every boom you buy has the measurments starting at 0 and then going onto the max extension, which is often between 50-60
Re: the numbers,
My old North boom had a number of measurements on it, you look at what sort of boom bit you have, (in my case A+ or something), and then look at the column for that boom bit. It's written as total boom length (ie 150 to 200), not 0 to 60.
It's not a big issue anyway, just get out the texta and mark your most used measurements, just a bit of a change from my old system.
quote:Haven't had this problem with mine. I seem to be able to undue the mast clamp and move it up and down without touching the outhaul. Although, this may be because I use skinny masts, then the wrap around bits don't seperate enough to unwrap and catch each other.
Originally posted by mineral1
Boom clamp system is good, but has one draw back, if for some reason, you wish to move the boom up or down on the mast while sail is rigged,(set it up wrong at the start) the outhaul needs to be let off first, other wise the clamp wrap around sections spread far enough to butt up against each other instead of the folding over system when re-clamping it, as it is designed for. Easing off the outhaul takes the tension off and the clamp then wraps correctly.
Four movement/adjustment needed now. Clamp off, out haul off, clamp on outhaul on. Not a big issue, but a trap for new players like me.
quote:
Originally posted by mineral1
Boom clamp system is good, but has one draw back, if for some reason, you wish to move the boom up or down on the mast while sail is rigged,(set it up wrong at the start) the outhaul needs to be let off first, other wise the clamp wrap around sections spread far enough to butt up against each other instead of the folding over system when re-clamping it, as it is designed for. Easing off the outhaul takes the tension off and the clamp then wraps correctly.
Four movement/adjustment needed now. Clamp off, out haul off, clamp on outhaul on. Not a big issue, but a trap for new players like me.
