Boom Vang

Well, I thought that maybe with the boom kicker on, and the main sheets rigged mid-boom, I might get away without a boom vang.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  While out one day in light winds, sailing on a run, the wind picked up the boom and the boom kicker got twisted and chewed up.  Besides, it was really difficult to get a proper sail shape without a boom vang.

I picked up the hardward and line at West Marine.  I went with cheaper Lewmar stuff rather than shell out the big bucks for Harken.  The cost for this hardware was about $150.  That includes the 25' of line.

Now I needed something to attach it to.  At first, the only thing I could find was a spinnaker pole attachment.

It looked ok, but it didn't have a good way to put a bolt completely through the boom.  This method would require me drilling and tapping some holes in the boom, then hoping that the four #10 panhead bolts and generous amounts of 3M 5200 would be enough to hold it.  However, after drilling and tapping the first hole, I quickly realized that the 10' boom wasn't thick enough to really get a good thread.  Since this whole process, I've learned about threaded rivets.  However stainless rivets also require a special (read expensive) tool.

After a bunch more searching, I found another type of boom tang.  It's a bit large, but would allow me to put a single bolt all the way through.  The bolt is a 3" #10 24 with two regular washers, two locking washers and a nylock nut.

 I marked where I wanted the tang, then drilled the boom again with a hole on each side.  The installation was simple.

Here's the final product.  If you look closely, you can see the bolt from my first experiment between the receiver for the boom kicker and the tang.  I opted to keep  the small bolt in there.  I don't like the idea of having an empty hole in the boom.

They next step is to install a mast base plate.  I ordered this from Garhauer.  It should fit the mast base perfectly.  The current mast plate is 5" x 3 1/2"

Mast Plates

MS-1

length:	5-1/2	width:	3-3/4
weight:	20 OZ	shackle:

All dimensions for mast plates are measurements of the flat surface of the plate making direct contact with deck.

$31.63

For now, I think I can remove the kicker, and attach the boom vang from the tang, to where the kicker attaches on the mast (the pivoting arm with the hole in it).  There's not a lot of clearance but it should be ok.