Welcome to Cat Components

Hello to all the followers of Cat Components.

We plan to do regular product spotlights to share details of the products we create, our design thoughts as well as ideas of how to use them.

In this first spotlight we are going to cover our Jib Boom Tack fitting, which many people are already using.

Over the years we have used many tack and counterweight fittings on the market but we have always felt that this is an area that needs attention, and so we sought to combine a number of separate fittings into one.  The result is our Jib Boom Tack Fitting that we have available for all the common boom material.  The 10mm Walsh boom, Arrowshaft as well as the 11mm mast section, some of which are available to purchase in our Booms section.  

Something that we endeavour to do with all of our products is eliminate, or at least reduce, the need to drill holes into aluminium booms and masts as this is where corrosion takes hold.  Many a boom has fizzed within a few weeks after being used in salt water.  Meticulous  washing in fresh water can slow this down but in the end it will corrode no matter what you do.   Our design is a tight fitting male plug that fits inside your boom.   Tight is tight, so tight that we recommend that this is the first fitting you add to your boom and then you align everything else to it as you will likely not be able to turn is once inserted.

The fit  is further improved by an external skirt under which the boom will slide as shown in this cross section of the design.

When fitting the part to the boom you must ensure that you push the boom fully up inside this skirt.  This feature helps reduce the chance of the boom splitting as we see happen with fittings from other suppliers.

The diameter of the hole through the centre of the fitting is made smaller than currently available counterweight rods and you will need to open this up using a slow turning drill until the counterweight rod can be pushed through under high friction.   As long as you keep the hole diameter small and the friction high you will not need glue the counterweight in place, and we recommend that you don't because of the next feature of the fitting.   If you end up with a rod that moves too easily then we recommend that you put a gentle bend into the counterweight rod before inserting it. 

The rod of your counterweight also acts as the anchor for your forestay, ensuring that the eye in the forestay sits within the chamfered recess in the nose of the fitting.

Also built into the fitting is an integrated cunningham attachment.  Two holes run through the fitting at the same angle as a typical forestay allowing a line to be run from a fixed point on the boom, up through the fitting, through the cunningham eyelet on the sail, back down through the fitting and back to the fixed point and/or a bowsie.   

You end up with a 3 in 1 fitting that will also improve the integrity of the front end of your jib booms.  

We hope that this spotlight is useful and ask you to please do reach out to us via our Contact Page if you need any further information.

If you have not done so already please subscribe to our website using the buttons below to make sure that you receive notifications about all of our news in the future.