Boom Chains

Logging is an important part of the history and present for Powell River. The forests were logged for trees to provide lumber to build the Townsite and to sell on the open market. Logging also provided the timber necessary to create pulp for the paper mill that founded the town.

Today, pulp for the mill is imported on barges, but logging is still an important part of the economy in Coastal BC. Times are tough, but there is still work in the forests. While new technologies have changed the industry, some of the tried and true methods continue.

One "piece of history" you will see in use today is the boom chain. Large logs are chained together to create corrals for the logs being floated to market. Here's a boom on Powell Lake ready to go to the south end and waiting trucks. Take a look at Paul's "A Powell River Photo Blog" for a great post about that part of the process.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you are looking for a strong link to keep your logs together, a boom chain is the epitome of beauty. Holes are drilled at each end of a boom log. The chain is threaded through the end of one log using the flat end.

Then it is threaded through the hole of the adjacent boom log. The large ring prevents the chain from falling out of one log. The flattened end is placed perpendicular to the log on the other end, creating a strong connection that can withstand the extreme forces created by wind, wave and towing.

I am not a logging expert, but I know that boom chains also help us keep our cabin's log boom perimeter in places. Thanks to the logging industry, I have a safer home. -- Margy