ON THE WATER
Starting with the factory setting, the boom doesn’t feel too much different to normal. There's an easy fit on to rig-up, a nice variety of outhaul threading options and no need for major pressure on the clamp tightening as the two ‘shells’ of boom arm tighten without the kind of force clamps ‘in front of the mast’ have. This ‘shorter’ overall length makes for the first observation in the hands on leaving the beach. As the boom lentgh is a few inches shorter, familiar sails will feel a little more compact and your harness lines will require a little adjustment along the boom. There’s definitely a more positive feel too as forward/aft rig movements you make do feel more live as the arms are directly in-touch with the leading edge.
The ‘wobble’ can take a little getting used to. Especially when you try a looser setting. Early runs in the first outings in gusty/fluky conditions resulted in a couple of catapults on powering-up to plane. The arms movement was a little disconcerting but easy to anticipate after a couple of attempts. Through lulls the movement was useful to sit low and trim the rig through holes and for being in a good body position to generate more power when hitting a patch of wind.
The most noticeable effect of all is the ‘travel’ the arms make over short steep chop. It’s 100% easier to keep straighter, power-on legs over chop as the arms help absorb the bumps. Normally you’d probably concentrate on keeping your rig steady and smooth and take the hits with your knees. With the Omega it was a pleasure to ride over corrugated chop and even rollier swells, with legs almost totally on driving the board and fin.
