With regards to knockin my noggin, I have hard far more close calls sailing monohulls than I have on the cat and the time I spend on those pales in comparison to the time I spend on cats. I can't really think of a time on the cat where I wished I had a helmet. The lighter booms on the cats today are a lot safer IMHO.

Even so, I promised myself that I would never jest about anyone wearing a helmet..ever.