I have a H27. I previous owner had a Boom Vang but never set it up. The boom is just under 12 feet long. How far from the mast should the vang be attached to the Boom?
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45 degrees or more
A 45 degree angle means that you attatch out the boom as far as you go down the mast. Going twice as far out the boom as down the mast is a 60 degree angle, but most of vang tension in that case goes to pull the boom into the mast. By the way, when I was mounting my vang with a bail on the mast. I went too low, and ran into the mast step which penetrates a few inches up into the mast. But a vang is a great addition, holding the boom down and maintaining sail shape when the end of the boom is outboard of the traveler. A real advantage of a rope fall for a vang is that we use it as a preventer when cruising on a run by detaching the snap shackle from the mast, and attaching it to the toe rail to hold the boom down, and forward. ("Preventing" an accidental gybe.) David Lady Lillie '77 h27
A 45 degree angle means that you attatch out the boom as far as you go down the mast. Going twice as far out the boom as down the mast is a 60 degree angle, but most of vang tension in that case goes to pull the boom into the mast. By the way, when I was mounting my vang with a bail on the mast. I went too low, and ran into the mast step which penetrates a few inches up into the mast. But a vang is a great addition, holding the boom down and maintaining sail shape when the end of the boom is outboard of the traveler. A real advantage of a rope fall for a vang is that we use it as a preventer when cruising on a run by detaching the snap shackle from the mast, and attaching it to the toe rail to hold the boom down, and forward. ("Preventing" an accidental gybe.) David Lady Lillie '77 h27
vang
You want to mount the vang at least 1/3 of the length of the boom away from the mast. Attach a bail to the boom, the shackle the vang to it.
You want to mount the vang at least 1/3 of the length of the boom away from the mast. Attach a bail to the boom, the shackle the vang to it.
bad advice
Using a boom vang as a preventor is something of a dinghy trick, but if you're running anything larger than a Laser or an FJ it's a great way break equipment because suddenly the vang is doing the work of both the vang and the preventor. That's WAY too much pressure for the toe rail, the vang blocks, the boom bail, et cetera. Sure, you might get away with it in light seas and light air on something as small as an H27, but think about what you're asking the rig to do at that point: a preventor controls the boom along a horizontal arc, while the vang controls the boom along a vertical arc. Now you're asking a single piece of gear to do both. Not smart.
Using a boom vang as a preventor is something of a dinghy trick, but if you're running anything larger than a Laser or an FJ it's a great way break equipment because suddenly the vang is doing the work of both the vang and the preventor. That's WAY too much pressure for the toe rail, the vang blocks, the boom bail, et cetera. Sure, you might get away with it in light seas and light air on something as small as an H27, but think about what you're asking the rig to do at that point: a preventor controls the boom along a horizontal arc, while the vang controls the boom along a vertical arc. Now you're asking a single piece of gear to do both. Not smart.
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