We have acquired an HR 352 and we find under full main that the sail plan is such that the boom swings over the helm position below head height, with obvious risks to anyone we put on the helm who forgets to duck or goes through the wind accidentally. We haven't had a centre-cockpit boat before so perhaps this is normal. Is this common to all 352s? Are we the only ones worried about this? Has anyone done anything to resolve ther situation. Any comments greatly appreciated.

By Peter Brown on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 09:45 pm:

There isn't an easy way of saying this, but I'm afraid this demonstrates why people go for a trial sail before buying a boat. I found just the same problem when I trialled a 352, and it worried me a lot. However, 352s with in-mast furling don't have the problem (because the foot is at less than 90 degrees to the luff) - so I bought a 352 with in-mast furling. Your best solution now would be to have the mainsail re-cut (or replaced) to get the boom up a bit. There will be little effect on performance.