What IS this thing

  • Thread starter Too embarrassed to admit
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T

Too embarrassed to admit

I hate to admit that I won a boat, and still don't know what parts of it are for. What is this thing hanging off of my main boom. It's beginnig to corrode, and I don't know if it's worth cleaning up.
 
J

Jared

Boom Vang Attachment

That is the attachment for the boom vang to the boom. I would clean it up and save it. Is there another attachment point for the boom vang?
 
Dec 2, 2003
392
Catalina 350 Seattle
Hmmm

Had to look and think about this - and then decided to rotate the picture to the right to put the mast in the right perspective, and I still couldn't figure it out. It looks kind of like a giant sail guide - when you have a "tuff luff" or "headfoil" type system for a headsail - where the sail's luff boltrope slides up into a groove in the headstay, you use a fixed guide to prefeed the luff into the groove and ensure it goes in straight and smooth. If the unknown item is something like that, it is huge!. It also looks like there is some sort of leather covering on the "horshoe" part of the piece. That may be to protect the mast when it was being used. Your guess is as good as mine! Tim Brogan April IV C350 #68 Seattle
 
A

a poor old sailor

Vang attachment for furling boom

I think Tim is correct about the vang attachment. It appears that your boom may be a roller furler, so the attachment allows the boom to rotate and the sail to roll up inside the horse shoe without having to disconnect the vang. PS If anyone needs one, I saw one for sale at the Nautical Trader in Venice last week.
 
A

a poor old sailor

oops, Jared is right!

Sorry Tim, I meant to give credit to Jared for the vang attachment submission.
 
J

Jeff D

Yep! They are right, vang attachment

It was designed to let the boom rotate while furling/reefing the mainsail. The original boom probably has a gear at he tack end. This type of reefing, while very mechanical, is a pain in the butt and most have switched over to slap reefing, easier and the sail sets better
 
May 6, 2004
916
Hunter 37C Seattle
Its a hoist point for your dingy

Total guess, but slide the ring aft along the boom so over your hard bottom dingy deck chocks. Then rotate the ring through the foot of the main sail so the leather guard is on top and red thingies are on the bottom. Attach hoist to red thingies and hoist dingy off deck, swing out boom and lower dingy. Don't have a hard bottom dingy anymore, use the ring to hoist something else. Am I right or what?
 
B

Bob

Hey Jeff D. . . .

Tell us more about that "slap reefing" - you have really piqued my interest. I envision the skipper barking out to the crew, "Allright, you poxy lubbers, reef that sail or I'll slap the (insert appropriate noun) out of you!"
 
J

Jonathan (like you couldn't guess)

Okay, WHO'S right?

Wow, those sure were some interesting suggestions. I think we can dispense with the bolt rope guide, and the dinghy hoist, but thanks for the effort. As far as the boom vang, I don't have anything to attach to this odd piece. What looks like "leather", is actually corrosion where the yellow paint has flaked off. Where can I find out what the complete assembly looks like? So, y'all think that this works with a rolling main? The sails are off at a loft being refurbished, so I can't check for reefing points. How does this "slap reefing" work? As you can see from the photo, the main is furled in a fairly traditional manner, draped side to side over the boom, and tied down. Here's another photo (sorry, this one's on its side as well), where you can see an attachment point on the outside edge. You can also see the sail and its hanks where they slide on a rail along the aft side of the mast.
 

Alan

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Jun 2, 2004
4,174
Hunter 35.5 LI, NY
It's a ...............

....universal attachment point to the boom. It can be used for any purchse on the boom, vang, preventer, MOB recovery point, whatever.
 
J

Jeff D

OK Bob,

First you tie a monkey fist on the end of your mainheet, then you slap those urchins you call crew into action to get your sail reefed. Once you get the hang of it, it works well. :). I'm too old to learn how to type. That is how I know what it was in the first place.
 
B

Bob

Hey Jeff,

tell me about getting old - I no longer buy green bananas! But I'm proud to say my mainheet still comes from my old lady. Or is that 'mainheat'?
 
A

a poor old sailor

Roller furling booms

"So, y'all think that this works with a rolling main? The sails are off at a loft being refurbished, so I can't check for reefing points." I'm pretty sure that I've seen that boom end before. You don't need to check your main for reefing points, as many (most?) have gone to slab reefing and have let their rotating booms freeze up. To verify that it is a rotating boom, look at that casting and find the odd (perhaps hexagonal) protrusion jutting out from one side. This nub was for a special handle that turned the gears inside and rolled the sail up around the boom. I still have one of those handles, I wonder if it would sell on eBay....
 
H

higgs

i have one - actually 2

The yellow thing is indeed, as mentioned, for a boom vang on a roller furling boom. The open ends have rollers on them so that one can roll the boom with it still on the boom. I own a yellow one, like the one in the photo, and an aluminum one. my old boat partner actually bought them both for our 1964 Paceship Eastwind. These are collectors items - very few are still inexistence. Don't part with this item for under $1k. I am holding out to a time when the going price tops $2k. I am accepting offers at this time.
 
H

higgs

Won a boat?

"Winning a boat" sounds like a story in itself. Let's hear it.
 
Jan 22, 2008
519
Sundance Sundance 20 Weekender Ninette, Manitoba, Canada
Its a reefing claw man!

I have seen one just like it. If is used on a mid boom mainsheet system. When your roll the boom to roller reef the sail, you no longer have a place to attach the main sheet, so you slide the claw over the end of the boom, attach the mainsheet to it and continue sailing
 
Dec 2, 2003
392
Catalina 350 Seattle
That was fun

Enjoyed that little excursion. Seems like "The new This old House" does something like that (What is it?). Too bad someone didn't attempt to identify it as a Beazel Clamp (as in "have the new guy go get me a Beazel clamp and a small bucket of prop wash"). Having fun in the winter... Tim Brogan April IV C350 #68 Seattle
 
R

Rich

The best way to find out what something is...

...is to throw it away. Then you can be sure you'll have a sudden need for it. This worked like a charm on my first boat, where miscellaneous fasteners and rods lying around in drawers revealed their true importance a few months after I tossed them...
 
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