Does the rigid boom vang require drilling the mast? If so how about using the track to attach a non- rigid vang? Does it require drilling as well? Is the rigid vang worth the trouble?
boom vang attachment to mast
- Thread starter Ben Albritton
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yes
yes, yes. you may be able to fit a padeye in the mast groove, slide it all the way to the bottom, a self tapping screw just above it will keep it from sliding upwards. Are you afraid to drill a hole in your aluminum mast?... You'll get over it.
Absolutely... if you purchase the Garhauer vang, they will include custom brackets for mast and boom with instructions on where and how to install. The greatest advantage of the rigid vang is the positive control on the boom, up or down, the device offers. No more topping lift, you can have as much roach on your main or a full set of battens and never deal with the annoying hang ups the top lift causes.
Thank you very much.Everyone seems to sing the praises of the rigid boom vang. However, I am a little skittish about drilling my mast. For a rigid boom Vang to work can the bottom connection to the mast rotate or does it need to be stable. If it needs to be stable than it seems like you would have to forget using the track and attach a bail through the mast. Clearly, I would prefer to use the track if it still works under the circumstances. One drill hole must be better than two.
...not sure what year your boat is, but a lot of the Mkll's came with a dutchman flaking system which of course is Hung from the TL. So in that case if you wanted to keep the dutchman, you'd need to maintain the TL...been thinking of adding a soft vang to mine for this reason.
The rigid vang requires a strong, saddle like, bracket fixed to the mast... the vang has a heavy hinge like fitting that connects it to the mast bracket. A bale will not work. A soft vang does not support the boom, a rigid vang does and requires a substantially more robust fitting.
Like I said, drilling holes in your mast, or your boat, for that matter, is something everyone has to do to make their vessel their own. Drilling a few holes in that heavy aluminum extrusion will do no damage, in fact you're going to be filling the hole with strong bolts or rivets, so what's the big deal? If you have unused, existing holes you can fill them with epoxy type products, such as Marine-tex, developed especially for aluminum repair.
The pictures are not that good, but you may be able to make our the mast bracket in the first one, the second shows the luff channel, and a few padeyes secured in it with self tapping screws (you can even see some empty holes...notice that I'm not particularly concerned) The top one anchors the cunningham, the bottom is unused.
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