I just about finished the boom crutch I wanted to make.. here's the story
The boom is a roller boom, so you can wrap the mainsail around the boom to store it out of the way. The problem is that the end of the boom drops unless you either support it with the mainsail halyard.. the line that raises the sail, or you hold it up with one hand while you try to wrap the sail with the other. It's kind of like trying to stuff a cooked noodle into a wildcat's ear with a hot butter knife!
So I designed and had made a boom crutch.. it's two pieces of stainless steel tubing that are mounted to the transom (the back of the boat). They cross to provide a place for the boom to rest.
It will make a nice support for the boom while we are raising or lowering the sail or when we use the boom as a ridgepole for a cockpit tent.
It's not quite done and it's raining here again, so pictures will have to wait...
I think I need to take a picture or pictures of the boat and point out some of the things I'm talking about. There are a lot of nautical terms being bandied about.
I also made some boxes to store navigational equipment and the compass. Not bad for a first time with intricate woodwork. I'll post pics after I sand and stain them