Messages

Thanks for the quick and authoritative answer, and for the peace of mind!  This forum alone proves I made the right choice in getting an Ariel for my first sailboat!

I'm still a relatively new Ariel owner, so forgive any naivete in what follows.

Yesterday, when preparing to sail and tightening my boomvang, the boom itself broke loose from the mast and hit the deck.  Upon closer inspection, it seems a single screw had fatigued until the point of failure.  I replaced it on the spot (see photo), but am now wondering -- does so much really depend this one screw?  Am I safe to sail again?  It seem the one little screw would experience a lot of pressure and torque as the sole part that connects the boom to the mast.

Thanks for any thoughts!

I'm finally making the plunge and buying an Ariel this week:), and I'll be transporting it by truck to a small port near where I live in San Luis Obispo, CA.  I'm hoping to put it in the water directly with a small hoist, rather than spending unnecessary time in the boatyard.  So, I'm looking for any general advice about quickly stepping the mast:  will I need a crane, or will a few friends do?  Any idea how long the basic operation should take?  The hoist area is fairly busy, so I shouldn't plan to do much work there, and I'm wondering about the possibility of quickly stepping the mast at the dock, then doing the fine-tuning of the rigging elsewhere.  Would that make any sense? Obviously, I'm new to this process, so thanks for any quick thoughts.

Glad to be joining the Ariel family!

-Brian Kay