I bought a new Bravo in 2004 for the wife (now we can sail alone togeather, I have a H17 Sport) and added the optional boom for a pricy $300.00. The boom was a great addition for any off wind sailing, allowing her to shape the sail as needed. I do, however, have few gripes. As purchased, the boom vang line runs through only a fairlead on the boom, where it should run through a micro bullet block (Harken $8.45, plus a rivit I had to replace when attaching to the fairlead) and the line itself was of marginal quality (replaced for $10.00 with 20 ft of 1/4" - 8 strand low stretch). As for the boat itself, the wife loves it. The only thing I replaced was the original hiking stick. My wife is 5'0" tall and needed a longer stick to be able to sit more foreward when pointing. For that I shortened the original hiking stick I had left over from a H16 (it pays to save those old boat parts, well atleast sometimes).