What is this? (picture included)

[sideyb]

Hey,

Is this a preventer of sorts? Any idea how to rig whatever this is?





Thanks,

Ben

[AllThumbs]

That device goes on the boom for the boom sheeting. It think it's for roller reefing on the boom so that the mainsail can be rolled onto the boom?

[Faster]

That, my friend, is a vang/mainsheet fitting for an old roller reefing main.... the fitting fits over the boom, shackle down, with the rollers resting on the "shoulders" of the boom section. When you cranked the handle to reef the main by turning the boom and rolling the main around it, the fitting's rollers allowed all that while still providing vang/sheeting ability with the reefed sail!

Don't see them around much anymore, no one really uses this type of reefing system with slab/jiffy reefing being so much easier/faster to use.

Edit... dammit, Thumbs, beat me to it

[JohnRPollard]

Good job guys! That one had me completely stumped. ' learned something tonight.

[tdw]

I knew that.....I used to have one in fact......worst reefing system known to man.....many moons ago now.....

So Thumbs and Faster are obviously as ancient as a certain fuzzy rodent and Pollard is barely out of nappies.

[sailortjk1]

LOL! I will have to admit to seeing them in the past and I was real close to knowing what it was used for. I guess that makes me a Fuzzypollard!

[sailingdog]

Unfortunately, the boom roller reefing system that type of fitting goes with was usually really bad at giving anything resembling decent shape to the sail when reefed. One improvement that was often made was to add wedges to the boom so that the reefed sail would have better shape.

IMHO, you're better off with a fixed boom and using slab reefing, which many of those who owned that type of boom roller reefing switched to as an upgrade.

[gc1111]

That fitting was mostly used for vangs. Usually the mainsheet was run to a fitting at the end of the boom that was designed to rotate.

In order to get a better shape after reefing, it was common practice to throw a towel or two into strategic places while reefing. Had to be a little careful when "shaking" out the reef :-)

But one of the first things I did when I got my current boat (an Allied Mistress) was to convert the main to slab reefing. Like many before me, I think that was a MAJOR improvement..

[tweitz]

The usual name for that gadget is a roller reefing claw. And I agree with those who remember roller reefing -- it was awful.

[sideyb]

Thanks everyone, I threw it away.