Amidships “Preventers”—A Bad Idea That Can Kill

Published Oct 2, 2018 78 comments Updated March 5, 2020

©2018 Maritime New Zealand

Back in 2014 I wrote an article arguing that the only right way to rig a boom preventer was from the boom, near the mainsheet bail, to the bow. (I will call these bow preventers for the balance of this article.)

But I still see a surprising number of boats rigging "preventers" from the boom, directly above the toe rail or a little outboard, to a fitting on deck, directly under the boom (in its running position) or slightly forward of that. (I will call these amidships "preventers"*.)

So I want to revisit this.

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Book Chapter Navigation:

<< Rigging a Proper Preventer—Part 2

Keeping The Boom Under Control—Boom Brakes >>

Meet the Author

John Harries

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

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