Quote Originally Posted by commanderpete
I never really thought about breaking the boom itself. Weren't these extrusions used as masts on smaller Pearsons?

Anything can happen, of course.
Tim has a new boom for the upcoming season—many reasons, but one is that his Garhauer vang was seriously bending his boom with the loose foot.

If you have a loose footed main, btw, I definitely recommend leading the outhaul aft to the cockpit like Tim did. I have a similar arrangement on my boat and find that once you have the ability to adjust it, you will, and to the benefit of your sail shape.