"Walt" wrote in message
...

Maybe I'm somewhat lacking in immagination, but I don't see how a
homebrew reefing system could cause the boom to break. If the odd
sailplan generates odd forces, my hunch is that they'd manifest
themselves as a boat that's difficult to control long before being large
enough to break things, although the wrong sail plan could cause enough
lee helm to over-stress the rudder.


My experience with small boats is that most damage is caused by being out of
control, not simply from overstressing gear. Capsizing, and righting a boat,
is extremely hard on the gear, as is dipping a tightly vanged boom. etc.