Damage from the end of the boom?

As the Solo boom is short and doesn't rest on the transom, when the sail comes down it hits the floor of the boat or (even worse) hits the side deck. When the wind is blowing the sail around, it is tricky to control where the boom is so even if you are being careful, the end of the boom can scratch the boat.

There are quite a few solutions to the problem. I have seen a cork from a wine bottle shaped to fit in the track under the boom. You can also tape some sort of foam padding around the end of the boom. I am not sure the cork solution is the answer as it only protects the boat from the bottom of the boom and the side of the boom can also cause damage when swinging around. The padding works, but too much padding can affect the wind flow around the rig and looks ugly.

I was looking around my garage to find something for my boat and came across a few different things, but the one that seemed worth trying was the 3M draught excluder tape I put round the front door last winter. I had to buy a roll of it so there was plenty left over. It is a spongy soft padding with double-sided sticky tape on it. Seems perfect!? Anyway, I took it down to the club last week and tried it round my boom - it appears to work well so far and is thin enough not to affect the wind flow. It is also translucent so you would have to look hard to see it. No problems so far and it has stopped the boom hurting the boat ⛵