February 14, 2005
Surprise's Vang
Here's how I have the boom vang rigged. It's a 12:1 purchase:
Click on the image for a larger view
The white line is a 6:1 purchase, with two triple harken blocks at either end. (The expensive parts)
To double the purchase I added the green line which runs from the boom to a turning block on the mast and thence to the 6:1 tackle system.
The blue line is the outhaul. I find the 12:1 to be a decent amount of vang, and the crew can adjust it easily. In general I'd rather have too much purchase than not enough. I've sailed on boats where the vang or the outhaul had simple 1:1 or 2:1, and the skipper expected me to make something happen.
The rule I learned from that (and which has been confirmed in many instances since) is to make the crew's job as easy as practical. After all, you're not in command of an 18th century Royal Navy Man O' War where you can compel the crew to stay aboard. So you need to take their feelings into consideration.
Posted by Bob at February 14, 2005 10:51 PM