Rigid boom vang placement

[curious1]

While out sailing my Hunter Vision32 the cotter pin holding the rigid boom vang at the
Mast came out - we did not realize it until the pin came out and the vang came loose from the mast in some strong winds. We quickly recovered the pins and proped the vang against the mast collar plate while we lowered sail and headed to the dock. It was getting dark so we decided to reset it in the plate later. This weekend we attempted to reset the vang into the mast collar plate but we were unable to move it. Not sure if it because we don't have enough strength (two 60+ year old females) or if there is a trick to causing the vang to compress that we are not aware of. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Try lifting the boom after loosing the main sheet. Vangs are pretty hefty and compressing them by hand is mighty hard. better to lift the boom to make clearance.
good luck

 

[curious1]

Actually we did try that but think we will give it another try.
Thank you.

 

[Ken13559]

If you could setup a vang (blocks and pulley) with a cam or not, you then use a winch to tighten the Rigid Boom Vang to compress it (with one end secure to the mast). I assume yours is either gas spring or mechanical spring. That's how I fit my Rodkicker (gas spring) to the boom.
Hope this answers your query.

 

[Dalliance]

Support the end of the boom with a topping lift or halyard and remove the vang from the boom. Reconnect the lower end of the vang to the mast fitting first. Then pull the vang line to compress it as needed to align the top end of the vang with the fitting on the boom. This is easiest with two people, but you can do it solo too.