Jenny's Extended Boom

Jenny's dinghy weights in at over 300 lbs.  One of the things you learn along the way is that you need to lift the dinghy out of the water every night, and sometimes after each use if the water is particularly nasty. Along the way I experimented with side lifts but was never satisfied because they were somewhat difficult to execute and it was difficult to secure the dinghy once lifted.  And, with a dinghy this heavy, it put the dinghy side waterline in the water above the bottom paint.  This resulted in the expected growth.  In Cartagena I started experimenting with a stern lift.  I knew the boom was not long enough to do a full lift off the stern, but I could get it out of the water.  This was an improvement.  However, the dinghy came to rest against the stern about 18 inches from the teak rail cap.  I was then concerned about abrasion of the dinghy against the hull.  I used a flat fender to reduce the exposure, but was still not satisfied. 

I also found that it is convenient to be able to launch and retrieve the dinghy when in a slip, something I could not do because the boom was too short.  So, after talking to the folks here at Club Nautico, Cartagena, I decided to contract to have it extended by 35 centimeters (1 ft).  The workers came on board, removed the boom and came back three days later with an extended boom.  They put an inner tube in to bridge the gap and a new outer section 35 centimeters long.  They repainted the boom and the winches and you cannot tell where the extension is.  With the boom horizontal and the 300+ lb dinghy hanging there is no noticeable bend where the extension was put in (just aft of the winches).

With the boom off the back, I also found another use for it.  I lift the 10 gallon water jugs with it and use a gravity feed to the tanks!  Too smooth.  Below are some photos.