DS II - Boom Vang

[hbjones]

Can someone please show me or tell me how to rig my factory boom vang on my '73 Day Sailer II?

I understand the end that attaches to the boom via the steel cable. It is the other end that I have no clue about. I am guessing I am overlooking something very obvious or simple, but I just don't get it. I think if I could see one rigged up correctly, I could figure it out.

Yesterday at the lake, I tried looping a rope around the base of the mast (below the tabernacle) through the other end of the boom vang, but I broke the looped rope twice.

Thanks for any help.

Harold
Phoenix, AZ

[Alan]

http://www.daysailer.org/forum/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=42&image_id=855


The link above will take you to a photo of two possibilities. The lower one, mounted in the mast slot, is what came with my 1980 DSII. The upper one is a bail, which looks to me to be stronger. I think some other people have used it. I'm now using a swivel cam cleat mounted in the mast slot.

[hbjones]

Alan,

Thanks the for the reply and pictures.

I hope I am using the right nautical terms, but how do you go from the fiddle-block (next to the V-jam) on the stock boom vang to the bail or eye-strap on the mast base? My boat has an eye-strap mounted on the forward side of the mast below the hinged tabernacle that I believe is somehow related to the boom vang set-up. I have scoured this forum and believe folks are saying to loop a piece of rope through that eye-strap to tether the mast-end of the boom vang.

Yesterday, I was using a piece of looped 1/4" rope through that eye-strap and the fiddle-block, but it kept snapping (maybe my rope is dry-rotted, but I tried two different pieces from my repair kit). I thought about upsizing to a piece of 5/16" rope, but have not tried that yet. We just sailed without it yesterday because I did not want to concern my crew, but I know I need to figure it out to get the best sail shape.

v/r,
Harold

[GreenLake]

Harold,
the eye strap on the forward side is another option.

It's hard to evaluate whether you properly sized your rope, because it would depend on the condition and what it is made of. New double braid rope intended for marine use should be plenty strong even with 1/4" diameter. One of the things you could do is double the loop, at which point you should have four parts connecting your vang to the mast. That should reduce the load on each part to 1/4 and unless you have a weak spot in your rope, I can't see how you could snap it...

Make sure that you not just loop the rope around the mast and then lead a single part to the becket on the vang's fiddle block. If that's what you had done, the load on the rope would be four times as high as in the scenario I suggested above.

[Alan]

Oops. Just went and looked at the boat for the first time since July. My memory was slightly off - I'm actually using a much bigger padeye in the lower location, screwed to a six-inch length of 1/2-inch aluminum rod that fits (barely) in the sail slot. The swivel cam cleat I mentioned is for the downhaul.

[hbjones]

Alan,

Thanks for your help and suggestions; I truly appreciate it.

I took some pictures of my stock set-up and uploaded them here. Hopefully, this thread will help someone else in the future.

Here is the stock boom vang laid-out next to the mast base (notice the mast is not rigged and out of the picture because this shot was taken inside my garage and the boom is stored away).

gallery/image.php?album_id=1&image_id=1886


If I understand correctly, this is how the stock boom vang should be attached to the eye strap on the front of the mast base. I tried doubling-up the line, but it is very snug going through the eye-strap and the fiddle-block.

gallery/image.php?album_id=1&image_id=1887


I hope to get my boat back on the water next weekend and will give this a try then.

Thanks again,
Harold

[GreenLake]

Nice images. I added the thumbnails to your post.

Now, your mock-up would be fine. As shown, the line carries half the load from the vang, so as long as it's sized for that, it should be good.

[talbot]

I also had problems with 1/4" rope wear on the lower vang shackle. I was using 1/4" New England Sta-Set. My vang has a cascade--the standard 3:1 vang in turn attaches to a 2:1 block so that the advantage is doubled. Even with the line around the tabernacle looped twice, the sheath wore through every few trips. I switched to full-braid Amsteel line for both the cascade and the tabernacle attachment, and that seems to have held up a lot better. It would work even better if I could figure out an elegant way to attach an oversize carabiner (mountaineering dimensions) to the vang to reduce friction.

Another option is to use a large mast bail attached to the aft tabernacle bolts. It works well, but like the Windex at the top of the mast, it's one of those things you have to remember to install before you raise the mast. I would typically raise and lower my mast three times at every launch. Once to put the mast up while forgetting the Windex, a second time to raise the mast with Windex but without vang bail, and a third time with both bail and Windex.

[TIM WEBB]

That's funny Talbot! Have had my share of "multiple mast raisings" as well, usually when making some change to my "system". I have the vang on a hingepin bail as well, and I only use the rear hingepin, which is stored on the bail with the vang, so it's impossible to raise the mast w/o it. Windex is stored w/ forestay lever, so I see and install it before I can even raise the mast ...

[GreenLake]

Mental checklist generally works for me, but I can survive w/o Windex when I need to

(Have lost two of them in the trees, so setting out with one doesn't mean I get to sail with one ...)

I have lost a jib halyard up the mast when docked at my destination. Using a step-ladder on the dock we could tip the boat far enough to reach, but I tried tipping it to get a windex on, but it would have taken water...

For the Sta-set I'm not surprised its chafe, not tension. I can see how having the extra slippery Amsteel (with superior reserve strength) would work well. (I've used Amsteel to replace my winch cable, has worked like a charm - now for so many seasons I've lost track).

[hbjones]

Thanks guys. I think I have it figured out for now. I will use the doubled-up 1/4" line, but will keep an eye out for a bailer I can rig on the tabernacle hinge-pin. Still being new to this boat, I know about multiple mast raisings too.

Thanks for adding those thumbnails, GreenLake. I was seeing other posts on boom vangs, but few of them had good pictures that I could open or figure out what I was supposed to be looking at.

Thanks again,
Harold

[klb67]

A question - can you/do others use a longer line at the mast, so it will lie to each side of the mast, rather than chafe on the rear of the tabernacle? I have an aftermarket boom vang that I have rigged when on the dry but not actually used yet. I think my block lies much closer to the cockpit than yours would. Just a thought/question.

[talbot]

You can make the line that tethers the vang to the tabernacle any length you want, but I don't think that's the problem. My halyards run through blocks on the tabernacle (not on the mast, which is the original configuration). The same eye straps that hold the block shackles also serve as guides for the vang tether on either side of the mast. So the movement of my tether is limited; it doesn't chafe on the tabernacle. I make the loop just long enough so that the downhaul from the gooseneck can pass inside on its way to a block on the deck. The chafing that stripped the sheath off of the Sta-Set was from the vang shackle itself. It might help to clip a large-diameter-stock carabiner between the vang shackle and the tether.