Boom upgrade

The yard and boom were basically made with scraps. They should have been round, or rounded squares in cross-section. But they got made with a rectangular cross-section that is taller than it is wide. Consequently, if there's a sideways pull on the spar, it bends more in that plane, and the ends go up or down.

I think the boom especially needs to be stiff, since when it bends in the middle, the ends will get closer together, making the foot of the sail looser.

I thought I could make a round-section closet-pole boom work, but first of all the pole had a wow in it, and then, at 1¼" it's just not thick enough to be stiff for its length.

Here's the new boom in my living room just about to be varnished:

I temporarily dismantled my stalled model project and used the station forms to hold the pole up so it could be varnished all over. Stainless wire from stitch-and-glue projects goes between the forms, through the pole. I forget where I got that orange tarp runner, but it's come in handy often enough.

I started to make the holes and decided too late they were too big, so one end got a set of wide-entry holes:

I carved the shoulders out with my pocket knife, then sanded the edges off.

Here's the finished pole boom on the boat. I hoisted it while ashore to make sure I had everything set up right, especially with the jiffy reefing:

The bend is quite apparent. Now I can still go sailing while I work on the old boom. And who knows, I might like it better!(?)

The original boom is now getting some "cheeks", pieces ¼" x ¾" laminated on lengthwise. Here's the original boom with the new wood sitting where it will get glued on:

It's called "screen batten" by the lumber yard, and it's not as big as I'd like it, but it's closest to what I want and I no longer have a table saw, so have to take what I can get. Now I'm thinking I need to check and see what the Finishing Store has in stock. The boom is 2" tall and 1" wide, so I really should be adding ½" to each side, rather than ½" total. Thing is, with laminating I think the glue itself adds stiffness; but still, ¼" may not hack it. Stay tuned. 🤔