rigid vang for small sloop or... Any excuse to upgrade.

[jbarros]

My name is James, and I dont double check when I should.

I had my mast down. I poped some rivits into some holes, took care of some rust, repainted the step, took off the spinaker stuff in the middle of the mast that the jib kept catching EVERY TIME WE TAKED (I dont have a spinaker) and tossed on a windex (my father cant tell what direction force 9 winds are coming from) And then we put it back up... Yhea! back up safley. Mast step bolted in, putting the boom back on and my friend emerges from the cabin...

"Hey, whats this rope for?"

"Thats the topping lift... *sigh*"

So... I''m thinking of going with a rigid vang. The boat doesnt currently have a vang, but it has a loop halfway down the boom, and a loop on the mast step, so I presume it had one before I got it.

Suggestions? What do I need to know before getting into this?

Should I just sail without a vang and run up the mast to put my topping lift back on?

Should I run up, put my topping lift on, and get a rope vang?

Why?

Thanks

-- James

[msl]

You might look into a "Boomkicker" brand as a low cost choice. I''ve had one for several years. It gets the job done. My next one will be a ridgid vang (Garhauer) ... thus eliminating my vang/boomkicker arrangement.
Good luck.
Mark L.

[hamiam]

try garhauermarine.com / they make good solid vangs cheap.