I've been considering adding a boomkicker to use instead of a topping lift. It seems it would be very helpful when sailing solo. Has anyone had any experience with this item? thanks cooter
I have the same question. Has anyone tried a boomkicker on a Suncat?
i asked the boomkicker question last year never got a response.my Friend has one on his hunter sailboat.works pretty good.i thought it would help with keeping the boom up the mast and off the boom gallows.trailer sailor chat room talked me out of buying a boomkicker.check out their catboat chat room.
Never saw the need on the suncat. I have a combination lazy jack / toping lift system that handles all my boom needs. See pictures for configuration
I had a boom kicker on my Hunter 170, it was great. on a small boat it really help me to flatten the sail and or dump the air from the top of the sails when hit with a strong puff.
The other thing I liked about it was, No need for a topping line, the boom kicker supported the boom, I could lower the sail and the boom would not move.
I have been thinking about getting one for my Eclipse, just have not done so as yet.
I think I paid $130.00 for my first one which came with two set of rods, one light and one stiff. I used the stiff one.
I also change my Vang from a 4 to 1 ( I think ) to an 8 to 1 cascading set up, really nice. my wife could manage the Vang without any problems regardless of the winds.
I got a little wind here, sorry.
Boom Kicker is a good product of good quality of material and was easy to install.
Glenn
The boom on the suncat is not fixed at the gooseneck, does this cause a problem. Also the hatch is close to the mast stub, can the it be opened and not get in the way of the boomkicker?
The boom kicker is based upon a fixed pivot point.
As to the hatch, I'm not familiar enough with the Cat boats to advise or comment them.
Good luck.
Glenn
Would have to find a way to fix the boom on the mast. it is deigned to move up and down bleow the hinge to fold the mast etc. However I am looking at a way to hold it up at anchorage to give max headroom. Seems to stay up unitil I lean on it and then it slips down. I was looking at just a line around the boom and use the mast pins in a way to tie the boom up while at anchor. Could add a sail track slug with screw but that would mean taking the hinge apart AGAIN!
can you cut a 1" board to length,then insert it between the boom and deck,or use the long pin tp hold the boom up.
Quote from: cooter on February 22, 2008, 12:06:54 PM
I've been considering adding a boomkicker to use instead of a topping lift. It seems it would be very helpful when sailing solo. Has anyone had any experience with this item? thanks cooter
I acquired a boomkicker on my Suncat that the previous owner had installed. It worked fine for limited use but the problem that I had was that I wanted to prop the boom up on a crutch when at the dock or anchor so as to use the bimini and also give me more headroom. [if you want to know about the crutch, ask.]
Anyhow, I took the boomkicker off as it prevents the boom from falling [a good thing] and it prevents the boom from rising [a bad thing.]
Its for sale if anyone is interested.
e-mail me: essenbee@juno.com
ourcat