boom kicker ?

[MIke B]

Thinking of having a second set of reef points put in mainsail this winter, was wondering whether anyone has used a boom kicker or similiar to replace topping lift in order to have another reef line, thanks in advance for all of the great advice I get here Mike B

 

[Jim Covey]

Garhauer

Mike,Check out the Garhauer rigid vangs. They sell for less than $200 and are really great. You will get rid of the topping lift and be able to adjust your sail draft in light wind situations by having the vang raise the boom a little.Good luck,Jim Covey

 

[mike epp]

single reef line

Mike, I've got 2 sets of reefing points on my main and I simply reattach the line higher up to take a double reef. Rigid vang sounds interesting though. I'll follow this thread.

 

[Davor Kusec]

2nd reef line

Mike, I have a 1986 h23 and I added a second set of reef points about 4 feet high then the original set. Works great in heavy winds (greater than 25 knots) here on the west coast. I attached the topping lift to the eye at the end of the boom and made it long enough so as not to interfear with the main sail while sailing and still support the boom with the main down. I then added a hook eye to the topping lift about one foot high up. I just lift the boom by hand and hook it on when in port or at anchor to get the boom up out of the way. For more room I move the traveler all the way to port and use a bungy to from the end of the boom to the port back stay.  My boom has three sets of lines in it. The starboard one is for original reef line, the middle one is for the 2:1 ratio outhaul and the port is for the new reef line. Both reef lines go up to the reef point and back down to the boom make them 2:1 ratio. I added a small block on the starboard side of the boom and a second pad eye on the port side to align this second reef line. Good luck.D.s/v Miss Brandy

 

[Mike Epp]

Pictures Davor?

Hmmmmmm..........sounds good but it would be nice to see pictures. Would that be possible? My email is in the Owners Forum.

 

[Cliff Ruckstuhl]

Been ther done that

I installed the Boom Kicker on my 23. It works real well is a good thing to have. One flaw I found is when in rolling seas the boom will flop around. You are not able to snug it up against the topping lift to stop the boom from floping around. Also you are so used to grabbing the boom as a support when getting on or off and somtimes forget it will now move allot more. All in all I liked it. Cliff

 

[Ward]

DAVOR Post pics to forum

I too would be interested to see pictures of your setup. If you take some please post them to this forum for all of us to seeThanks a lotWard