Need toping lift advice

[maestro]

for those of you who have a Garhauer

My new boat (28ft.) has a Garhauer vang. The one negative I see on it is that there is no way to adjust the vang. The setup on my boat is that the bitter end goes through a single block that is attached to the mast collar and that's it. No cam block..nothingh/ Plus it is so close to the mast that adjusting it will mean moving a long distance away from the wheel. Did the PO do something wrong or do I just need to buy a single block w/can???

 

[Rick Sylvester]

You'll have to do it.

You'll have to use a deck organizer or turning blocks to bring the line back to the cockpit if that's where you want it, where it can terminate however you choose (cleat, winch, stopper, etc.) It sounds like the PO never got that far on yours and just left it at the mast after installing the vang.

 

[Bob Carlton]

Maestro, Rick has described my system.

I have a block at the mast collar. From there the line runs to a deck organizer and runs aft to a clam cleat which is on port side of the companion way. My main sheet clam cleat (say that 3 times)is on the starboard side so I can reach both and keep a hand on the wheel if I am in front of the wheel. My vang came with enough line to run it anywhere in the cockpit. Fred, thanks for the explanation, I understand your point now. Although I never thought much about it before, I assumed that the solid vangs would hold the boom up even if you exerting downward pressure on the end of the boom (i.e., pulling somebody out of the water with a Lifesling.)

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Bob, folks with solid Vangs can still use the Life

Sling. Just use the main halyard hooked to the END of the boom. But,,, isn't that why they invented the stern ladder? If you can't climb back with that, how is a LifeSling going to be usable? (The MOB would be unconcious and disabled ie; dead)

 

[Kevin]

You guys are making it a tough decision

I had never heard of a Boomkicker so I am glad I posted my topping lift question. I checked out their web site and the product looks good. I like the idea that the mast fitting can be done with a slide that fits into the mast grove, thus avoiding yet more holes in the mast. But based on the bargain prices for a Garhauer rigid vang the decision is no longer how to run the topping lift, but rather Boomkicker vs. rigid vang. Thanks,Kevin

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Kevin, I didn't either, until

a sale ad from West Marine arrived one day last spring. What I neat idea, I thought. Picked up the phone and called Sailnet.com. They drop shipped one (on my web site) and I saved 50%! I think they are on sale right now. P.S. Psst, come closer, I have to whisper,,, If it's off sale, say, "OOOh MAN! What a bummer, I thought it was still on sale!" They will probably give you the sale price. It's worked every time for me. Shhsh, don't tell anybody.

 

[Jim LeBlanc]

Back to the original question

I have a topping lift on my S2 7.3, which has a thin plastic (white)coated stainless cable (like a life line), with a small thimble on each end. It is attached at the top of the mast and ends about two feet above the boom. In the lower thimble is spliced a 1/4 inch line, which is lead around a turning block and into the boom. The line comes out at the head end of the boom, where there is a built in cam cleat (the boom is a Kenyon). This setup allows you to adjust the height of the boom to 2 feet above the cockpit when not sailing and to easily take out the excess slack in the topping lift when under sail. The cable looks better than a line running to the top of the mast, but I agree that it must be plastic coated and have the slack taken out when under sail, or it can fray the trailing edge of the main sail. PS - the cost is a lot less than $200.00.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Yeah, we had a setup like that.

A cam cleat on the end of the boom and a turning block at the end of the vinyl covered cable. Pull on a short rope that was dead-ended on the boom and up it would go. If a boomkicker wasn't out there I would have spent $900.00 to get rid of it.

 

[Terry Cox, P42, Belle-Vie]

Our boat uses the Dutchman system so we...

still need the topping lift. We also have the standard vang. I changed the topping lift trim from the mast to the end of the boom and it works much better. The mast end of the topping lift comes down inside the mast to a cleat at boom level for Dutchman repairs. At the end of the boom I have two blocks to give me the needed purchase, each have beckets and one with a cam. The main reason for doing it this way was to free up an organizer sheave and clutch for our main sheet. It works so much better this way. Terry

 

[Kevin]

Feedback on Pride Marine

Well I still haven't decided on a Boomkicker or Garhauer rigid vang but when running down CDN sources and pricing for the Boomkicker I contacted Pride Marine in Kingston, which was recommend here, and was very disappointed in their pricing. So disappointed that I thought I'd post here to save other Canadians the time in dealing with them.You can order a K1000 Boomkicker from Sailnet for $172 US, and Pride tells me the list price is $500 CDN but they can discount that to $410.You sailors in the USA don't know how lucky you are to have competition in the marine business.