1. Originally equipped with a topping lift. SS wire to rope splice used for adjustment. I left it on all the time till i got a boomkicker. and adjusted it to one inch higher than the top of my head. worked for me but I am 5'6" ...
2. Because I run a half hour in and out of Gordon River to get to the Gulf, we drop the sail on the river, flake and put the cover on before we get to the dock. There is powerboat traffic and resulting boat motion. We drop the main fast, attach the main halyard to the end of the boom and snug it up to eliminate the springiness of the boomkicker, before we flake and put the cover on.
New crew unfamiliar with the spring like action of the boom without the main halyard to stabilize it are going to be surprised when they reach out thinking that the boom is solid but it bends away from them. Great trap for all your cruiser friends.
And talk about a loose cannon ... in high waves with only the boomkicker on ....that boom [under power with the main down] has a action all its own unless snugged in hard. Keeping the main H at the end eliminates that ... And afterall you have to keep the main halyard somewhere when the main is down, why not keep it "working" for the boat instead of in the way off a stanchion base.
Remember to put a stop knot in the vang as the boomkicker has a tendancy to bounce up high enough to detach from the boom when the sail is up and the vang is too loose.
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