Best Location on Boom for Vang?

[rardiH36]

I am adding a boom vang to my 1980 Hunter 36 which was not installed when I bought the boat last summer year. Purchase will be 4:1 with fiddle blocks at each end. One fiddle I've attached to the base of the mast via a bail.But for the boom attachment point, is there a commonly accepted best distance/angle from the mast? I wasn't able to find much in the archives or on the internet. Nor could I find on line any instruction sheets for boom vang kit's that are sold be various manufacturers.Looking at boats in my marina of about my size, the ratio of mast base to goose neck distance vs. distance from goose neck to vang attachment point on the boom ranges from about 1:1 (45 degree angle) to almost 1:2 (about 30 degree angle when measured at the mast).I recognize that each boat is different, but there must be a ratio that would be a reasonable "one size fits all" solution. My boat has mid-boom sheeting at about halfway along the length of the boom. Opinions appreciated.regards,rardi

 

[s sauer]

Boom Vang

I would guess 1.5:1 up to 2:1 for the angle, realizing that the greater angle will be putting more presure on the goose neck.Bolt a bail thru the center of the boom at 1.5:1 and connect a single block to it; run the 4:1 purchase from the base of the mast toward the single block, but eye splice a single line to the top fiddle block; run the single line thru the single block on the bail and connect the other end of the line eyespliced to a snap shackle back to the base of the mast. You now have an 8:1 boom vang and the snap shackle end can also be taken out to the rail as a preventer.

 

[newly anonymous]

fiddle block hint

Get a becket on one of those fiddle blocks, and you'll have 5:1 purchase.

 

[Steve Dion]

Rardi

If you have not ordered one yet, contact Garhauer. They will give you the specs on how to install.You may also want to consider a rigid vang. It provides the advantage of suporting the boom plus the boom control that you are probably looking for. They are very reasonably priced and worth the extra investment. Their products are all warrantied for 10 years.

 

[rardiH36]

Vang Boom Location - Some More Info

Carl and Mr. Sauer:Thanks your good inputs. After my post this morning, it dawned on me to also to do a communication the old fashioned way -- telephoning the support department of a sailboat block manufacturer from whom I have purchased some of their products over the past several months. The tech suggested that setups anywhere within the 30-45 degree range are workable. (Dusting off my high-school trig, that equates to between 1:7 and 1:1 vertical to horizontal ratio). Due to some hardware already mounted on my boom, and to keep clear of the mainsheet which is routed to the mast before being led back to the cockpit, I am confined to about 1:1.25 ratio = 39 degrees; which is reasonably near the mid-point of the acceptable range. Increasing to 8:1 purchase with only one extra block is a neat trick. I had seen this before somewhere, but it did not really register. With time I will probably make the modification. But for this first blush, I am connecting the upper fiddle directly to the boom vail. For the lower mast fiddle, however, I do have on hand a heavy duty swivel/snatch shackle that I can use to attach to the bail at the mast base for the boom vang function; or to the toe rail for the preventer function. The vang control line is being lead back to the cockpit.Now to actually installing a boom vang on my boat. (Notes to myself: - Find the 3/8" bit and rev up the power drill. - And try not to cut through the reefing and out-haul lines which are routed internally through the boom! And refrain from compressing/damaging the boom by tightening the bail bolt too much. Etc.)rardi

 

[rardiH36]

Rigid Vang

Steve:Yes: A rigid vang is another one of those items that I probably will add to my boat as I gain more experience and will want the better performance and ease of function. Thanks for suggesting and I will keep in mind the brand you reference. Their line is very sharp looking.For now, however, given that my boat doesn't have any boom vang at all, even a basic setup + topping lift should provide significantly more mainsail control. And by using (and repairing) some of the miscellaneous unused blocks and fittings from the rather considerable "odds & ends" cache that was on the boat when I bought it, I'm learning a lot about how the running rigging systems really work (or don't work if I figure wrong). At the cost of a only few SS nuts and bolts and some replacement sheaves to refurbish a couple of blocks, this vang project really is affordable. The blocks and fittings are now ready. The mast now has a bail at its base, the starboard deck organizer has an unused sheave, and there is an empty rope clutch on the cabin top near the cockpit. Should take only an afternoon now to "vang" the boat.Reading posts on this forum have been extremely useful for me over the past several months for all sorts of topics.

 

[Brian M H23]

rigid vangs

I've always wondered, for those of you with ridgid vangs: What is it that makes it better? It seems to me like replacing the topping lift with a spring is far less secure...when I'm at the dock or at anchor, my topping lift and mainsheet are snugged up, and the boom in't going to move at all, - it gets used as a handhold, and I dont know how i'd ever stow the main without the topping lift. Am I missing something?

 

[Clark]

Brian, what I've seen others do and will probably do myself

after I've installed my rigid vang, is to use the topping lift only at the dock or mooring. This will allow you to cinch things down when not sailing and when disconnected underway, allows one to take advantage of the rigid vang benefits. I'm not sure what you mean by "never being able to stow the main" ?? The vang will hold the assembly up just fine as you flake the main on your boom.

 

[Brian M H23]

Just saying

Just saying, when i'm up on the cabintop, its nice to know that the boom is fixed in place when putting the main down / reefing, especially in any sort of weather/waves.

 

[rardiH36]

First BoomVang Sail Today - Much Better

Took the boat out today on San Francisco Bay from Sausalito, over to the SF waterfront, skirted by Alcatraz, and back. Sunny, tempurate, and a fine moderate northerly breeze.This was the first outing after cobbling together a boom vang earlier; as referred in the my previous posts on this thread. I'll need to make few other minor modifications and tweaks* but .... ....... MUCH, MUCH, BETTER SAIL TRIM AND PERFORMANCE! Thanks all the input.(* Looks like Mr. Sauer's suggestion of locating the boom bail for a 1.5:1 ratio in fact will be better than the 1.25:1 of my first try. Actually I think 1.6:1 will be about right, even though I'll need to relocate a hardware item already on the boom. But no big deal.)rardi

 

[newly anonymous]

advantages of a rigid vang

1. Doesn't hang up on the roach the way a topping lift will;2. For boats with an arch (et cetera), the rigid vang guarantees that you won't crack the boom on the arch during a jibe;3. When adjusting a rigid vang, it only requires one line, while when adjusting a soft vang/topping lift combination, you have to adjust two lines simultaneously;4. When somebody blows the topping lift by mistake, the boom crashes to the deck (or the lifelines or somebody's head,) a problem you'll never have with a rigid vang;5. Less windage aloft without the topping lift;6. Total big-boat coolness factor, because soft vangs are for dinks.