Just wondering why no-one has responded. I guess I'd say that the boom is not your main criteria - choose a boat that suits you all round. I have a boat with a boom and one without. I break the boom I have every now and then (by landing on it), and that makes sailing home a bit of a bitch. I don't break the boom on the boat that doesn't have one. Maybe worth thinking about??? Otherwise choose the boat you like, ignoring the presence or otherwise of a boom.