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The much-discussed long pin should not be used to hold the boom above the hinge when sailing. The reason is that in the dreaded crash jibe, the boom will twist the mast pretty hard. Better to twist the stub, stressing the mast partners, deck, and mast base, than to twist the upper mast section, stressing those little hinge pins. Obviously, you're talking about a pretty bad event to actually break those pins, so the danger in ordinary sailing is probably minimal.
The long pin is intended to hold the boom up high when you are NOT sailing, so you can open the hatch and get in the companionway more easily. Someone here also said it is intended to hold the sail and gaff boom down when folding the mast, to prevent any parts getting damaged by the hinge. I have never used it for that purpose, and have never had a gaff boom intrude on the hinge while folding the mast of any of the Com-Pac cat boats.
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