Top 5 things to look for in a Boom Bag

A boom bag is designed not only to allow ease of handling a sail but to protect your sail from the weather and in particular UV from the sun. There are many factors that go into the design of a boom bag which will not only make your life easier but also extend the life of the bag. These are what we suggest you look for;

1 Covered Zips

All zips need to be sewn so that when they are closed, they are covered from the sun. Some zips are treated against UV but the best protection is cover them with cloth. This is most important on the top zips as these will see the sun all day as it goes overhead.

Covered zips are very important.

2 Sewn in Tenara Thread

Gore Tenara thread is UV treated and guaranteed for the life of any fabric. This means that you won’t have to get the cover re-sewn in its life span. Resewing a cover never looks as tidy as the original sewing.

Tenara thread is also available in a large range of colours which match the colour of the fabric and doesn’t fade.

3 All materials used are UV stabilised.

Many of the boom bags we see which come in for repairs have reinforcements sewn on them externally in a Dacron or a non-UV stabilised material. Due to the boom bags exposure to the sun if these materials are used they break down very quickly, greatly shortening the life of the boom bag.

Stiff battens make the bag look good and give great handling.

4 Strong and Rigid battens

If soft battens are used in the boom bag they won’t support the bag correctly it won’t do its job of catching and holding the sail. When good battens are used with well set up lazy jacks they will make raising and dropping the mainsail quicker and easier.

5 Open or Vented at the bottom

All boom bags need to have an opening along the length at the bottom or have venting mesh sewn into them. This allows any water that gets caught in them to drain as well as allowing air to circulate around the mainsail to help prevent mould growth.

Open or mesh bottom allows water to drain freely.