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Posted by dwhite --Previous Message--
on 5/11/2007, 7:53 am, in reply to "Have you ever seen a vang setup like this?"
207.255.116.128
This system sort of went by the wayside sometime during the early 1970's. Before the development of end boom sheeting mid-boom travelers were the normal way of controling the main. Because of the placement of the mid-boom track one could get sail shape by sheeting in then if you wanted to spill air all you had to do was to let the traveler slide down to leeward. The shape of the sail didn't change, you just let wind spill from it. The vang wasn't as important as it became when end boom sheeting came into being. Most vangs were used to just keep the boom down when going off wind. Other than that it was not uncommon for the vang to be loose when beating to windward. As sail shapes and main sheeting systems became more developed the need to control sail shape through the use of more effecient vangs became greater so that system basically died out. One can still find this parts to this system in older masts that may still be good to use but that system should be discarded and replaced with a more modern system.
: I've just bought an old wooden
: Fireball with the weirdest vang
: setup I've ever seen. I want to
: find out if it makes sense to more
: experienced sailors than me before I
: repair or replace it.
: Th vang attaches to the boom with a
: normal keyhole-type tang, attached
: to that is a wire that runs to a
: fitting on the base of the mast,
: where it is attached through the
: diameter of a horizontally mounted
: rod (rod diameter of about 1/2
: inch). The rod has a drum mounted
: on one end (looks like furling gear
: mounted horizontally!) Pulling the
: line wrapped around the drum
: tightens the vang by wrapping the
: wire around the 1/2" diameter
: of the rod. No purchase, just the
: effort reduction created by the
: small diameter rod vs. the larger
: diameter of the drum.
: I see problems with the rod diameter
: forcing the wire into too tight a
: bend, the lack of purchase, and
: don't see the point of the whole
: setup.
: Has anyone seen this setup before?
: Does it work? I'd appreciate a
: second opinion.
:
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