What kind of wood is a good choice to make my boom out of?    I had already made one out of the 4x6 from my mast but it went and bowed on me about 3/4 the way down. I had it all shaped and everything... Â
   I made my gaff out of 2x2 doug fir and it's solid as a rock but I can only find it in 8' lengths around here. I thought of cutting down a 12' 2x4 but most either have a bow in them at the store or a week later they start to bow...
mike, I used doug fir ,really straight grained,same with the mast..............a little heavier than some but worked really well...........cut the boom out of 2x6,went all out and bought #1 grade and picked through the pile forever.......every time I look at it I'm glad I did.......straight as an arrow.....................bruce
Any wood will do, particularly if it's straight grained, quarter sawn or vertical grain, relatively (or completely) knot free stock and is laminated of a few smaller pieces to prevent warping. Douglas fir is good so are some of the pines.
I never buy a 2x4 or 1x2 from Lowes/Depot. I buy a 2x12 or 2x10 by 16' long. These boards have to be cut from much older and larger trees, so the grain will be straighter, there will be fewer knots and defects. It's pretty easy to find a perfect, straight grained, knot free board if it's a 16' - 2x12, but imposable if it's a 2x4 or 1x2.
Secondly, if you cut the edge off a 2x12 or 2x10 at .75" you get a 1x2 which has quarter sawn grain orientation. If I want a 2x4, I rip 3.5" off the edge of these big boards too. This permits you to avoid the heart wood too.
It's not cheaper to buy wood this way, because they charge by the foot, but if you work from these big pieces, you'll find nice, pretty stuff after you look through a half a stack or so. Next time you're at one of these box stores go look through the 2x12x16' stack and see how long it takes before you find a perfect one. Then try to find a perfect 2x4.
Paul, what dimensions should I make my boom out of a 2x6x16 or a 2x10x16?  I'm using the rl-328 gooseneck from duckworks... I widened out the tangs on it using 2  1/4" spacers.
Mike: My boom is douglas fir. I found some very nice straight grained 4X4 's that were 12" long and used one for the boom. Purchased at Menards...a regional big box. Some may not have that advantage. Any stable straight grained wood should work. After all, if your any kind of sailor, your boom won't be getting wet very often! LOL!!
I also used the Duckworks gooseneck, with the tangs recessed into the boom.
Dave
Divide the narrowest dimension of your boom by 3/4". This is the largest laminate you should consider with epoxy and solid wood. Make the boom up with opposing grain pieces of 3/4" thick or less.
In other words, if the boom is supposed to be 2"x3" use a three layer laminate. The two outer layers are 3/4" thick with a 1/2" inner layer. This sandwich construction method will prevent warping.
The glue lines should be vertical, not horizontal in the laminate. The image shown suggests the grain orientation (opposing).
My Vacationer boom is 2 2x4 douglas fir pieces laminated and planed to dimensions.
Keith S. made his Weekender boom from an oak stair rail, has nice shape and works fine.Â
Greg
How funny is that, I was at lowes today looking at their oak stair rails. I was thinking of using it as boom material but couldn't figureout how. 1. it's heavy and 2. the shape is odd..
Greetings,
Heavy is ok. You can't easily rig a vang on a Weekender, so a heavy boom will help hold proper sail shape. As for the flat spot on the hand rail, mount the boom with the flat spot on the bottom. The flat spot will make attaching the pad eyes for the main sheet easier.
Cheers,
Tom