I need to rig a boom vang for my 1972 O"Day 22. Any suggestions on how to do it? What hardware and line to use, etc?
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Just did it last night
I just installed a soft boom vang on my Oday 23 last night. Issues for you to consider: hard or soft vang? I think a hard vang on a boat as small as yours (or mine) is overkill. You could do away with the topping line with a hard vang, but to me there are no other benefits; you don't need that robust a unit, and they are soooo much more expensive and hard to install. However, to each his own. How big a unit? Not big. A small two block system, where the lower unit has a becket, is fine for an Oday 22. Don't forget that each block will need a shackle to affix it to the mast/boom. I bought mine at a boat show from the Garhauer rep. Rigged with line and two shackles, the whole thing was only $65. That was less than half of what smaller, inferior units (without shackles) was going for on ebay or from West Marine. How to attach to the mast and boom? I used boom bails (u-shaped pieces of stainless steel), and attached them to the mast (as low as possible without interfering with the interior wiring) and boom with self-tapping stainless screws. In my case, I had just replaced my sails, and my sailmaker calculated exactly where on the boom to attach the vang (39 inches from the goosneck). The general rule of thumb is to have the vang at about a 45 degree angle, or attached about as far out on the boom as it is down on the mast. When in doubt, stick the thing a little further out on the boom. Don't forget to isolate the stainless fittings from the aluminum mast. If you don't, electrolysis will eventually rot the fittings into powder. I used some scrap neoprene rubber (from a useless Croakie) to make gaskets to keep the bails from touching the mast and boom. I know someone who went to his local bike shop and picked up an old inner tube to cut up for gaskets. For that extra touch, you can also buy some goopy stuff to try and keep the screw threads themselves from "touching" the aluminum spars. Someone makes a product that you can smear on the self-tapping stainless mounting screws that is supposed to elecrically isolate them from the aluminum. I couldn't remember the name or find it in my collection of catalogs, so I did without. The whole job of measuring, drilling and mounting the vang took about 45 minutes.
I just installed a soft boom vang on my Oday 23 last night. Issues for you to consider: hard or soft vang? I think a hard vang on a boat as small as yours (or mine) is overkill. You could do away with the topping line with a hard vang, but to me there are no other benefits; you don't need that robust a unit, and they are soooo much more expensive and hard to install. However, to each his own. How big a unit? Not big. A small two block system, where the lower unit has a becket, is fine for an Oday 22. Don't forget that each block will need a shackle to affix it to the mast/boom. I bought mine at a boat show from the Garhauer rep. Rigged with line and two shackles, the whole thing was only $65. That was less than half of what smaller, inferior units (without shackles) was going for on ebay or from West Marine. How to attach to the mast and boom? I used boom bails (u-shaped pieces of stainless steel), and attached them to the mast (as low as possible without interfering with the interior wiring) and boom with self-tapping stainless screws. In my case, I had just replaced my sails, and my sailmaker calculated exactly where on the boom to attach the vang (39 inches from the goosneck). The general rule of thumb is to have the vang at about a 45 degree angle, or attached about as far out on the boom as it is down on the mast. When in doubt, stick the thing a little further out on the boom. Don't forget to isolate the stainless fittings from the aluminum mast. If you don't, electrolysis will eventually rot the fittings into powder. I used some scrap neoprene rubber (from a useless Croakie) to make gaskets to keep the bails from touching the mast and boom. I know someone who went to his local bike shop and picked up an old inner tube to cut up for gaskets. For that extra touch, you can also buy some goopy stuff to try and keep the screw threads themselves from "touching" the aluminum spars. Someone makes a product that you can smear on the self-tapping stainless mounting screws that is supposed to elecrically isolate them from the aluminum. I couldn't remember the name or find it in my collection of catalogs, so I did without. The whole job of measuring, drilling and mounting the vang took about 45 minutes.
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