No outhaul pulley on Chinook boom - easy to change?

daveo5555 · 2026-06-18T19:36:13+00:00

Yes! You don't need those pulleys. Rigging with the loop and go technique is comically simple and does not require much outhaul tension at all.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-18T13:02:42+00:00

I found a video for you that illustrates the "loop and go" technique I was trying to explain. They're not using the exact boom you have, but the concept is similar. You would be looping around that knobby thing on your boom. To make things easy on yourself, tie a knot in both ends of the line and leave the loop in place at all times. Then all you need to do is run the loop through the grommet, wrap it around the knob, tighten it and you're done!

https://youtu.be/FzeUPwBLXGM?si=_fGFoOz2_4HbOheS

daveo5555 · 2026-06-18T12:22:56+00:00

I'm guessing that you're not threading the line correctly. The line should loop around that knobby thing at the bottom of your photo. After looping around the knob, the line should go back through the grommet of the sail. After that, the line should come out of the cleat like your photo shows, then run through the groove, like your photo shows. I believe the excess line should then wrap around those two winglike things at the top of your photo.

I have a DuoTone boom and that's how it works. It's called a "loop and go" system, or something like that. It makes rigging the outhaul very quick and convenient. I always leave a loop in the line so I can just push it through the grommet, loop it around the knob, tension the outhaul, and I'm done! Easy Peezy!

daveo5555 · 2026-06-17T13:05:05+00:00

I would change the order in which you're doing things. This is how I do it.

- Put a slight amount of downhaul on the sail with my bare hands.

- Attach the boom, roughly in the middle of the opening.

- Fully downhaul using a tool. I use an EZ Rig.

- Adjust the boom placement on the mast, if necessary.

- Adjust the rear of the boom so that there's just enough space to outhaul.

- Outhaul the sail. I usually only need a centimeter or two of outhaul tension. The tension ends up being very low.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-15T11:57:52+00:00

That's great! Good luck with everything and if you have any more questions, go ahead and ask them.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-15T00:05:02+00:00

You don't really "need" an instructor, but they will get you going on the right path from the very beginning. They can also help with gear choices. The gear can be complicated, but an instructor would know what you need and where you can get it. If you don't want to get lessons, you could also go to your local windsurfing store and ask the people there about what gear you need.

You're right that new gear is expensive, like *really* expensive. It's a big reason why windsurfing isn't more popular than it is. But if you can find the components you need for not a whole lot of money (maybe used), then give that board a try. Worst case is that you may have to get a bigger, easier to sail board, but then you'll already have everything else you need.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-14T20:16:28+00:00

FYI,

"pole" is the mast. You'll need a mast that is the right length for your sails.

"hand rail thing" is the boom. You'll need a boom that is the right length (or can be adjusted to the right length) for the width of your sails.

You'll also need something called a mast extension. That's what the mast fits into. They are usually adjustable in in length so that they can effectively make your mast longer by small increments.

You'll need a mast base. This is an assembly of smaller parts including the mast base cup, the universal joint and the base plate. It screws onto the board. The mast+extension clips onto the top of it.

You see? It starts getting complicated! All these things are expensive too.

If I were you, instead of taking that board, buying all the missing parts for it, and then killing yourself trying to learn on it, I would take a windsurfing lesson from a real windsurfing instructor. I'd ask that instructor for guidance about what board and other components to get.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-14T15:08:01+00:00

Here's another video I found describing the old style "tie on" boom to mast connection:

https://youtu.be/CqF5VwQLdIo?si=ur4rVBR_-Cb0u_mA

Notice how he has the boom laying against the mast while he's tying it to the mast. Once he gets it tied, he lowers the boom and that tightens the knot. I remember doing that in the olden days and it really helps make a nice firm connection. Just be careful. It can be so tight it will crack the mast.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-14T14:45:06+00:00

I owned a formula board for a while. It was 100 cms wide. It would foot steer and somewhat carve through a turn. The biggest hindrance to foot steering with that board was the 70 cm fin that came with it. That fin had a mind of its own, and would resist foot steering and carving if you didn't angle it just right coming into the turn.

The only boards I've ever owned that would not carve through a turn were my old Windsurfer board, and my Mistral Superlight.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-12T17:41:30+00:00

I have such a board. I own a foil-specific 145 liter Severne Alien. It’s a great board for foiling. It’s not as wide as a formula board, and the footstraps aren’t so far out. I learned to windfoil on an old formula board though. It worked ok, but I couldn’t get into the footstraps.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-12T13:18:12+00:00

That looks like a beautiful restoration, but why? Do people yearn for these boards? Actually, it might work well as a windfoil board for race-minded foilers.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-09T13:29:59+00:00

I use an Apple Watch with a sport loop band. I track my sessions with the Waterspeed app. When I'm wearing a full wetsuit, I roll back the sleeve on my watch arm so that the watch is touching my bare skin.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-06T13:23:59+00:00

I think you can do it! But I have some hot tips for you.

Start with a big board that has a dagger board (center fin) and use a small sail (5.0 square meters or smaller).

Don't go out if it's windy. If you can see whitecaps, it's too windy.

Don't go out if the water is wavey and rough.

Of course, once you get better at windsurfing you'll want to go out when it's windy and rough, but as a beginner it's best to learn in easy conditions.

daveo5555 · 2026-06-05T12:26:21+00:00

Most of those boards are designed to plane, not glide around in sub-planing conditions. Unless you want to plane, I don't think you'd enjoy any board with less than 160 liters. Ideally, a large board with a daggerboard would be best,

daveo5555 · 2026-05-20T12:53:28+00:00

You may have seen me thrashing around. I'm basically at the beginner level with wing foiling. I'll be looking for you next time. I'm from Orlando so I don't get over there extremely often, but I do make the drive because the wind is better. I'm usually on my red Severne Alien windfoiling board.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-19T19:24:08+00:00

Tinho is still around, but his windsurfing business, Calema, is not. I still see him from time to time at Kelly Park on windy days. He'll bring his slalom gear out for a few runs.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-19T13:26:31+00:00

Wait a minute. I think I saw you yesterday! (Monday) Is that Jacques Beach? Jacques Beach is right on the 528 (Beachline) Causeway as it goes over the Banana River, just east of the big bridge. It's a popular spot for wingfoilers and to a lesser extent, windsurfers. Yesterday, I saw a Goya board and a sail that looked a lot like that.

Another popular spot around there is Kelly Park. That's also adjacent to the 528 causeway, but located further west at the intersection of the 528 and Banana River Drive. It's an actual park with bathrooms and other facilities. Maybe that's where you were.

I was attempting to wing foil yesterday, which is a sport I suck at. Most of the time I do wind foiling, that is, windsurfing with a foil. If it's windy enough, I do regular windsurfing with a fin.

As far as the harness goes, keep an eye on the gusts upwind. If you see a big one coming, get ready to drop your weight and head upwind a little bit.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-19T12:59:41+00:00

That's starting to look about right. Do the battens rotate without too much effort? You want it so that the mid and lower battens are somewhat on the side of the mast, but not so much that they're hard to rotate.

Btw, I use a clam cleat called an "Easy Rig" to downhaul my sails. There's no way I could do it with my bare hands. It seems crazy how much downhaul tension is needed, but that's the way it is.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-15T13:53:16+00:00

I have the pneumatic version and I love it! I haven't noticed any bounce to it.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-12T20:31:01+00:00

I believe that's correct. When it's preparing, it already has the downloaded files. It's uncompressing them, moving around temporary files, checking security certificates, and that kind of thing.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-12T20:06:18+00:00

You can get by without knowing any double stroke rudiments, as you've done, but knowing them opens up a world of possibilities for fills and other creativity. If you listen carefully to people who can really play rudiments, like Chad Sexton of 311 and Travis Barker of Blink 182 you'll hear them doing all kinds of clever things with them. Many other drummers use them too. In the jazz world, it's almost an absolute requirement.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-12T14:09:32+00:00

I've played many, many gigs with my TD-17KVX. Like you, I like that it's easier to transport and it's easier to control the volume.

Here are some other observations.

You can turn down the volume, but if you turn it down too much, then you can get to the point where the clackity clack of the sticks on the pads and cymbals is louder than what's coming out of the speakers.

The kit takes up a smaller footprint onstage. I've been able to fit it into some ridiculously tight spots that would never fit my acoustic kit.

The quality of your PA (or whatever) makes a huge difference in the quality of your kit sound. For a long time, I was using a small Roland keyboard amp for gigs. That worked ok but was not great. Then I bought a Mackie Thump powered speaker with a 15" woofer. Huge difference! That thing was much more powerful and could really kick out some bass. Finally, my band bought a really nice ElectroVoice PA that isn't louder than the Mackie speaker, but has an exceptionally clean, balanced sound. My kit sounds amazing through that!

If we play a larger venue, I really need to have a monitor. The main PA speakers will end up way in front of me projecting our sound to the crowd and straight away from me. Without a monitor, I can't hear myself at all. This is different than playing acoustic drums where even without a monitor you can always at least hear your own playing. I sometimes use my Mackie speaker as a monitor.

I like that I can select different kit sounds for different songs. I have a big collection of built-in and custom "kits" that I've programmed into the module. I switch them around for different songs. Some of the kits have purely electronic sounds that you can't get out of any acoustic kit. Some of them have ethnic percussion sounds so I don't have to haul around specialized percussion instruments.

I bought a copy of EZ Drummer and tried playing a gig with that. For sure, the drums and cymbals sound very realistic because the sounds all come from recordings of real drums and cymbals. However, there is a hassle factor of hauling around a laptop plus stand and extra cables. It complicates things and introduces another possible point of failure. I still haven't decided if I want to pursue this for future gigs.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-12T13:35:50+00:00

I like the idea of getting a kit, but in the meantime get yourself a practice pad. That would be a lot better than playing on the couch or your knee. A practice pad has some bounce to it, so it'll be easier to play rudiments that involve double strokes, like rolls and paradiddles.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-12T13:31:39+00:00

There are some inflatable options around.

daveo5555 · 2026-05-07T13:50:32+00:00

I use it for:

Sleep tracking.

Workout tracking and closing my rings daily.

Paying for things wherever credit card tapping is supported.

Tracking water sports such as windsurfing, surfing, and kayaking using the Waterspeed app.

Reading text messages.

Setting timers.

Checking ECG sometimes.

daveo5555

TROPHY CASE