My HC37 has no vang. I have often wondered if it was necessary or left out on purpose. Can someone enlighten me on that subject please??
Vang?
- Thread starter DanMaine
- Start date
I am not familiar with the HC37 rigging. Do you have mid-boom sheeting, end boom sheeting, an adjustable track traveler or a bar traveler? A vang is not strictly necessary and lots of boats are designed without them.
Vangs help flatten sail by keeping the aft end of the boom down. We'll designed and adjusted sheet cars usually do that job perfectly well.
-Will
Vangs help flatten sail by keeping the aft end of the boom down. We'll designed and adjusted sheet cars usually do that job perfectly well.
-Will
That's where questions about the traveler and mid-boom sheeting come in. Boom lift is lessened with a wide traveler sweep moved more foreward of the boom end. The more under the boom the direction of sheet pull, the better at keeping the boom down and the flatter the sail.
The nice thing here is that, in general, the further off the wind we tack, the more belly we are likely to want in our sails. So, some boom lift is desirable.
-Will
Mid boom sheeting with an adjustable traveleer. Seems I'm getting my answer! Thanks all!
Downward boom tension, either from the sheet, or from the vang, also reduces twist in the top of the sail. This becomes most apparent in gaff and sprit rigs.
Sometimes twist is desirable, sometimes not.
Sometimes twist is desirable, sometimes not.
My '77 h30 did not come with a vang probably because it's sheeted near the end of the boom and has a fairly long traveler just aft of the companionway. I added a vang to help with sail flattening when needed but went years without it and had no serious issues. Anything you can add for sail control and tweaking is, in my opinion, a plus.