Rodkicker Vang

[Siamese]

I'm guessing most or all the 309s are equipped with the Selden Rodkicker vang. I'm wondering if the placement of the upper end (boom end) of the kicker has its location set by Catalina/Selden or the dealer.

In reading the Selden tips and tricks booklet for tuning the rig, they state that the kicker should never be "bottomed out" when you're sheeted all the way in under any sort of normal sailing conditions, as this will put unintended loads on the boom that can compromise it.

Well...when I'm sheeted in, sailing close on the wind, my kicker is bottomed out. Hmmmm. I'm thinking I may want to relocate the boom end just a couple/few inches further aft on the boom to allow it to have travel left when sheeted tightly. Selden says that when fitting the boom end, drill into the slot where it resides, and tap the aluminum for the three screws that hold it. Sounds easy to do.

I might check with Catalina as to who picked the original location. If my dealer did it, that pretty much guarantees that it's wrong.

Another reason why I'd like to reposition it is so that I can lower my boom just a little more when furling and unfurling the main. I've heard and read advice that says to raise the end of the boom a little to ease furling. I used that advice with little success. Lately, I'm getting the boom as low as possible, and positioned the little car that sits on top of the boom way forward. Now, I'm getting greatly improved furling performance.

I guess I've raised a couple issues here. I'd be interested in:
-knowing if anyone else is "bottomed out"
-knows offhand who sets the boom end position of the vang
-just generally alerting other 309 owners about the danger of having their vang bottom out under normal use.

 

[jsalley]

I wondered the same thing, and even investigated moving the boom attachment aft a couple of seasons ago. Mine was also set up so that it bottoms when the mainsail is fully sheeted in. Not sure if the rig is set up that way from Selden, or if the dealer who commissions the boat does it (but suspect the latter). I've found that when sailing I don't really need any more adjustment than I have, although I haven't thought about further lowering the boom when furling. There does seem to be an excess amount of boomkicker length when extended, though, so one has to wonder if moving the boom attachment aft to allow additional lowering might be advantageous.

 

[GKuffner]

When my C309 was first delivered I bottomed out my boom kicker when sailing close to the wind. The other problem that I had was that when the boom was tightly sheeted in it hit the top of the bimin. I need the bimini up as high as it will go so I had my sail maker cut a foot off the bottom leach of the mainsail which tapered to nothing at the clew. This had 2 benefits 1 it stopped the boom from hitting the bimini and 2 i no longer had the boom kicker fully compressed when sailing close hauled. Adjusting the mainsail cost less than a $100 and was very easy to do. There was no appreciable difference in sailing performance.

Gary
c309 Glory Days

 

[Siamese]

Gkuff, I had the same problem with the boom rubbing on the top of the bimini. I had to have a patch sewn on the bimini after a short period of time. Lately, though, I don't use the bimini, favoring a flat canopy that we can deploy or put away in about 30 seconds (is level with the top of the dodger so you can't stand, but it shades us much better when in use).

Anyway...I went ahead and repositioned the boom vang today. It's a pretty straightforward procedure, but here's a how-to for the records:

First, I have no idea whether your 309 needs this. If your rodkicker bottoms out when you're sheeted in, Selden says that'll compromise your boom, so you decide. Plus, as mentioned in my original post, I'm noticing greatly improved main furling with the boom lower while furling.

The boom end of the rodkicker terminates in a fitting that's bolted into the groove under the boom. The bolts are not backed up by nuts, as you couldn't get to them. They are threaded into the aluminum. Disconnect the boom vang from the fitting by removing the cotter pin that keeps the pin in place. Have a helper pull on the line to relieve pressure on the vang so you can remove the pin. Definitely have your boom supported by the topping lift as you do this entire procedure. If you relieve the pressure enough, the pin may simply push out. If you have to bang on it or drive it out, you probably haven't eased the tension enough. Light tapping might be needed.

With the pin removed, the vang will fall free, so be sure not to let it hit your deck. And make sure you have the control line for the boom vang in the stopper/spin lock so it doesn't rapidly extend. Lay the vang on your deck.

Remove the three bolts that hold the boom end fitting to the underside of the boom. Mine required the use of a "star" type bit. I attached the star bit to a 3/8" ratchet drive and easily turned them out. The attachment hardware will now slide freely in the boom slot but will not drop free.

In my case, I was able to slide the hardware aft to where the forward hole in the hardware lined up with the aft-most of the three holes to which it previously attached. Effectively moving the hardware back about three or four inches. I screwed one of the bolts into it, and re-attached the vang for testing. I found I was able to actually depress the aft end of the boom a few inches beyond level without bottoming the vang. Great. By loosening the mainsheet and releasing the boom vang control, I was also able to raise the aft end of the boom many inches past level. Certainly well beyond anything I'd ever require in actual use.

So, my testing showed me that I would no longer bottom the vang, and had in no effective way limited its ability to raise the boom. In other words, improved with no downside.

Leaving the hardware in place, I pencil marked the boom where I wanted to drill. I just used the hardware as a guide to draw the circles where I needed to drill.

Then I removed the vang and slid the hardware out of the way.

I had earlier taken one of the bolts to the local tool rental, and rented the appropriate tap. Mine was an 8mm bolt. Your's probably is too, but you might as well take it with you to be certain. If you've never tapped anything before, it's easy. Particularly into thin, soft aluminum. I'll bet you could google for some tapping know-how.

From my drill bit collection, I chose the bit that looked like it would be the correct size (just a smidge smaller than the bolt, minus the threads). I predrilled the hole with a much smaller bit, to give me a better guide for when I used the actual drill bit. In retrospect, I'd have been wise to smack the middles of the circles I'd drawn with a punch for greater accuracy (although everything lined up just fine).

Once the holes were drilled, I threaded them using the tap. It's only about 1/8" of aluminum, so the tapping's easy. Actually, I ended up redrilling with the next bit size up. I had deliberately erred on the side of originally choosing a slightly small bit...you can make the hole bigger, but you can't shrink it!

The tapping went quickly. Once tapped, I slid the hardware back into position and loosely installed a bolt into the one, original hole in the boom. Note: the hardware itself is threaded, which no doubt helps keep the bolts from falling out. To be sure all went smoothly, I ran the tap through the hardware and into the new holes I'd drilled and tapped, with the hardware in place. Don't worry, there's a little gap/play between the underside of the boom and the hardware, so your threads tend to line up nicely. Then I installed the remaining two bolts. They went in easily (yea!). Then I snugged down all three of the bolts with moderate torque. There's no need to over-torque into aluminum!

Now, just re-attach the vang. Your helper can pull on the vang control, allowing you to precisely align the holes in the vang with the hole in the hardware. Truth be told, I didn't use a helper. I just set the vang line so the vang was a little too long, and tugged on the vang line where it runs over the cabin top to the mast base. My hands were full, but I was able to get precise alignment of the holes, and the pin slid right in. I reinstalled the cotter to retain the pin. DONE. The whole thing only took about an hour. I had an appointment I had to keep, or I'd have taken a little longer.

Results are perfect. No bottoming out. Fully functional.

Final thought. It could be argued that this modification can allow the end of the boom to be lower under certain conditions where it could pose some hazard to the crew. Personally, I see that as a small shortcoming or compromise in the 309's design...maybe they could've made the entire boom a few inches higher on the mast. No doubt, that would compromise other aspects of the design. I'm not bothered by the fact that the boom can sometimes be a little lower...say, when furling. Bear in mind, it's travel could ultimately be limited by the topping lift if you wish.