Do you use a boom vang–also called a “kicking strap”–on your small cruising or racing sailboat?
Vangs on larger boats combine a rigid tube with the mechanical advantage of block and tackle.
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If not, you are losing lots of power from your mainsail…
and your small sailboat will be thrown out of balance on reaches…
with tons of weather helm, loss of punching power, and excess heeling.
Few controls in sailing are as overlooked and underused as the sailboat boom vang.
Did you realize that the boom vang ranks 2nd, right behind the mainsheet in your ability to trim the mainsail for maximum sail power?
Look at this selection of super tasks this single piece of sailing gear can perform for you:
- Trim your sails to perfection on reaches.
- Serve as a preventer on smaller sailboats.
- Keep the leech shaped for power in heavy air.Trim Your Sails to Perfection on Reaches
When beating or close reaching, the sailboat boom lies close to the centerline or just over the edge of your boat. The mainsheet performs the job of pulling down on the mainsail to keep the leech trimmed just right. But what happens on reaching points of sail?
When the boom hangs out over the water on beam reaches or runs, the mainsheet no longer has the power to pull downward on the boom. This causes the end of the boom to rise, the leech to curl into a half moon, and the sail draft moves all the way aft. You end up with severe weather helm and a white-knuckle helm in a stiff breeze.
Pass the baton over to a boom vang whenever the end of the sailboat boom gets out over the water. The vang will pull down on the boom, tighten the leech, and give you just the right sail shape for powerful performance.
Rig a Preventer on Small Sailboats
Use the vang as a preventer on smaller sailboats when broad reaching or running long distances. Attach the vang to a strong deck fitting that can handle the high loads.If you are anything like me, running provides a lot of thrills.
On inland waters, the boat levels out and the wind lightens.
Offshore, the thrill pumps when you surf down waves and exceed hull speed!
But there’s a downside too…
When running before the wind, the apparent wind can shift faster than in any other point of sail.
The boom could slam over to the other side of the boat in a dangerous “flying jibe”.
This could injure sailing crew, damage boom fittings, and cause temporary loss of boat control.
Set the boom vang as a preventer before you fall off to a broad reach or run. Smaller boats can disconnect the vang from the mast bale and lead it over to a strong pad-eye on deck. Lead the vang sheet aft to the cockpit for easy adjustment.
With the vang at the rail, the boom will be prevented from jibing–thus a vang rigged in this manner takes the name “preventer”. For sailing safety, always rig a preventer when running downwind in heavy air, or when running for long periods of time.
Keep the Leech Shaped for Power in Heavy Air
When the wind begins to build, you want to move to heavy weather trim tactics. This involves more than just reefing. You need to use the vang, along with the mainsheet and traveler to maintain good mainsail leech shape to provide power and performance.
Follow these steps when its time to move the mainsheet down the traveler track:
1. Tension the vang just a bit to remove slack.
2. Move the mainsheet car to the desired spot along the traveler track.
3. Set the car in place (track stops or traveler line)
4. Stand aft of the mainsail. Sight up the leech.
5. Slack the mainsheet a bit until you see the leech twist halfway up the sail.This technique will help spill high-octane wind higher up off the water to keep the boat more level and balanced. And it will keep your boat on her feet, and provide more power to punch through a chop.
Boom Vang Tips to Get You Started
Most boom vangs attach about 1/3 of the way aft of the mast. A “U” shaped bail attaches to the underside of the boom and another bail to the mast base. The vang attaches to each bail, and consists of three to four part block and tackle or–on larger cruising or racing sailboats–a rigid hydraulic tube.
Make sure that a block and tackle vang has a quick-release cam action cleat on the lower block. In heavy sailing weather, you need to be able to release the vang to prevent sailboat boom damage in case of a boom trip (the end of the boom dips into the water).
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Pump up your mainsails power on reaching points of sail with a boom vang. You will learn how to sail a boat better than ever before with peak performance, speed, and drive.