Boom hurts me hands - ideas?

[nanmoo]

The new chinook booms (ie. the Pro Alloy Aluminum ones) seem to have a more abrasive coating than the old ones, not surprisingly my hands do not like the new coating and like to blister up (never is a problem if I use my old boom). Anyone else experience this and any ideas (other than calling me a sissy or telling me to wear gloves)?

Maybe I can rub some surf wax on it or something? who knows. maybe you do?

[MartyD]

Taking your purse off would be a good start

[nanmoo]

haha, I knew this would happen.

[KUS]

try using sunscreen on the hands before, it helped me.....well, when I used that chinook crap that is

[rvanderbyl]

I know a few people who swear by Burt's Bees Hand Salve. Don't know for sure if it works....but there it is. Apply in the morning well before sailing and at the end of the day when you're done.

[nanmoo]

any idea where I might find that stuff Ray?

[rvanderbyl]

Try thriftys or any health food store. I also seem to remember using finger less Dakine sailing gloves. But that was years ago when I used to sail all the time and my hands would get pretty beat up some times.

[nanmoo]

Thanks, I'll try that.

I'm not getting blisters as in white pussy pockets, but just abrasions that sometimes are bad enough to weep, as if I rubbed sandpaper on my hands for excessive periods. I compared the old and new chinook boom last night, and the old grip is like velvet, whereas the new stuff is much harder and not as velvety.

[gorge_r_and_d]

Hey Nanmoo,

We have not had any complaints at all on the new grip. We have sold a few thousand since Spring 2009 too ... That said, we use a new grip manufacturer on the new boom, & it is slightly harder. Most people - so far, actually prefer the more firm grip to the squishier stuff.

I think another difference is that the old grip, especially on carbon booms, may have been sanded a bit more to smooth it out whereas the new grip is installed cleaner leaving more of a "factory" finish. So you may be able to get a bit more of the old "velvety" feel by sanding with 80 grit sandpaper(what we use).

HTH

[nanmoo]

Awesome, I'll try that!

[~~~~~4j~~]

I don't suffer as much from the sanded skin, rather I get wounds like these:


I'm looking for some gloves. I've tried some HO Sports "Clutch"waterski gloves (older model) but they are a bit too slippery and cause forearm fatigue. Other waterski gloves look promising. http://hosports.com/product/gloves/gloves-all

Windsurfish recommended some sailing gloves, but I forget the brand and where to buy them. They looked very grippy with the rubber palms. Anyone else have glove recommendations?

[KayakDoc]

Gettin’ the hair off is tough work!

[rvanderbyl]

The Dakine gloves were awesome. Not so much for winter sailing. Material on the palm was kind of like thin leather, or whatever, and stretchy on the back of the hand. Very comfy and didn't bother my grip on the boom at all. Looked like cycling gloves without the thick padding.

[Windsurfish]

Maybe there is some to be had down in Gold Beach? I've used it for yrs and never get boom rash...

http://www.nutrasanus.com/shark-liver-oil.html

Have fun at the Bash!!!

[~~~~~4j~~]

I haven't had much luck with gloves, until now. They were either too thick in the palm, too slippery, or not curved enough so that your hands were working against the material. All of these caused forearm fatigue. After several trials with different gloves I have finally come up with something that works!

I searched through the myriad of waterski gloves at my local watersports store, and found a pair which solved most of the problems (HO MFG Empire Gloves). These are of course made for water and gripping a bar. They fit tightly around the wrist and palm (adjustable straps), have extremely precurved fingers, and a thin leather palm/finger underside.


The only thing missing was a sticky grip - the gloves still tended to slip off the boom more than bare hands do. After much research I came across this interesting product called Super Grip. It is made by the same company that makes Plasti-Dip. It is basically a rubberized grip for fabrics in a 11 oz spray can. I taped off the gloves exposing only the palms/fingers, sprayed them with a few light coats, and left them to dry overnight. A few notes on Super Grip. It is made only for fabrics. It doesn't work with vinyl. It has nasty toxic fumes: wear gloves, safety glasses and a good mask with a carbon filter, and spray it in a well ventilated area. You can find it at Industrial Plastics and Paints.

After trying the gloves out in some extremely gusty conditions I concluded that my modifed gloves grip the boom almost as well as bare hands! I forgot I had them on when sailing.

I will see how long the spray on grip lasts. So far it seems to be holding well. If it does wear off it won't be difficult to respray them.

I know that most people don't have a problem with blisters and abrasions from the boom, but for the few of us that do, this may offer a possible solution.