Boom Wang, do I need one?

[a64pilot]

A reason to keep a topping lift if you have a hydraulic Vang is for when those seals fail, also depending on the weight you may have on your boom it may be a good idea to unload some of the weight when the sail is down, so maybe they don’t fail.
I guess I could also attach the main Halyard to the end of the boom to hold it up too.

[james247]

Originally Posted by Panama Red

I have a Hylas 44 without a boom vang. Sails pretty good without a Vang, but I must wonder, would it sail better with one, and are there other considerations for the vang?



I have noticed two major types: 1)hydraulic rigid and 2) block and tackle with and without a ratchet. What are the pros and cons of each?

There are many controls on mast and main sail shape. A sheet is fundamental. A boom vang is next. Runners, backstay tensioner, check-stays, inner stay adjustment, mast jack the list goes on.
I would always have a vang. I prefer non hydraulic.
There are many systems produced by the major equipment suppliers
But a simple block and tackle works. The connection point to the boom and the base of the mast must be done considering the loads. I would personally only retrofit this with the assistance of a licences rigger.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

I think peg, a stick in the ground to which you might attach a rope holding a tent, comes from a different proto-Germanic word, *peg, a stake, and originates from proto-Indo-European *bak, a club, a stick, a peg.

I've never undertood why my Aussie mother used wooden clothes pegs to pin clothes to a laundry drying line while other people called the same things clothes pins. And my Aussie father would use a mallet to drive tent pegs into the ground.

Going back to that proto-Indo-European word *pehg or *pehg, to secure something securely, to unite two things together, you use another of its descendants when you pay out a line or the anchor rode.

Big difference is that in that case PIE *pehg, *pehk went via Latin pax, pacem, peace; to Old French 10th century payer, to appease, to satisfy, to pacify; to Middle English 1200 pay, to appease, to satisfy; to nautical English 1627 pay more cable, to slacken, to appease or satisfy the strain on the anchor rode.

That's a fair illustration of the differences in pronounciation between the descendants of one PIE word, when one descendant came via Germanic to English and the other descendant came via the Romance (Latin, French, etc) route.

Hmmm... PIE... Hittite perhaps??
(B.A. Linguistics, 1985)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

In the UK English world, where many recreational sailors were from the class of people who were more common with the rig and tackle of horses and carriages, kicking strap was the preferred term. That was in the mid- to late-1930s (1935 - 1937 if you prefer a little exactitude).
...

The term boom vang started being common in the late 1930s, around 1939. ...

Ashley, when I was dinghy sailing around Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours and the Solent in the early 60's we still called it a kicking strap.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Hmmm... PIE... Hittite perhaps??
(B.A. Linguistics, 1985)

That's certainly in the ball-park. And Hittite has a respectable vocab of verbs for doing things (words deal with joining, fastening etc). Quite innovative and revolutionary people.

Hittite is, I think, the first of the Indo-European languages to have been recorded in writing, from around 1500BCE (Old Hittite) - 1200 BCE (New Hittite).

I've only a limited Hittite word list at hand. Just looked through it quickly and did not see a word that would fit in the PIE *pehg - *pehk line. But that does not rule out Hittite being in the line leading from there to pay or to vang.

A decade or three ago, it was common to talk about Indo-European-Hittite.

Proto Indo-European is a hypothetical reconstructed language, suggested as the common language (or common languages, because one school of thought has it that there were several PIE languages) prior to the split into the various Indo-European language sub-families. Linguists who embrace PIE usually point to 39000 BCE, or thereabouts, as the date of currency.

[roverhi]

Can't imagine sailing without a vang. Even with a traveller you don't have to ease off the wind much before you lose control of the leech tension and get a big belly in the sail. As you ease the boom out further the sail will contact the shrouds, etc. With a vang, you can haul down on the boom tightening the leech and extend the boom further before you have issues with chafe on the rigging.

Old style vang was a tackle to a pad eye on the deck or rail. If you rigged two permanent ones, one to each side, you had very good control of the side to movement of the boom in harbor which is a big plus. Under way the vang will need to be adjusted as sheet tension is changed which can be a pain and needs to be released when you tack. If you only have one tackle set up you'll have to move it from one side to the other when you gybe/tack. If you have a double set up semi permanently attached to each side, it's a built in boom gybe preventer which can be a life saver. Think more sailors die or are injured by gybes whether it be by accident or on purpose.

New style is either a tackle from boom to mast or a rod and tackle set up. The latter will support the boom when the sail is down eliminating the need for a topping lift. On a cruising boat both types take up real estate that could be better devoted to storing things like a dinghy.

[RichandHelen]

I had a boom wang when I was younger. Now - not so much

[akprb]

No one mentioned the “accidental jibe” yet.

Depending on the geometry of your pig that wang may save your backstay and by extension your mast.

(See what I did there) :-)

[Tillerjockey]

you might want to consider a boom kicker with a soft vang

[LouK]

Second that, can say enough about Gahaurer's vangs, reasonably priced, looks good, works like a charm.

Lou K
Shazam

[thomm225]

No, you don't really need one especially if you aren't racing.

Many older boats don't even have them.

[hamburking]

On several of my boats I've removed the vang. Its really only needed when well off the wind, in breezy conditions. When this happens, I prefer to be under jib alone anyway. I find the vang gets in the way (especially on a small boat) and often causes trouble when setting the main, or trying to adjust the topping lift.

If your main has forward sheeting (forward of the hatch instead of on the stern) the vang does even less.

To be on the safe side, I keep the vang below, ready to go if needed. I put snap shackles on both ends for a quick connect. Its also a handy hoist, if needed to get someone or something heavy aboard, using the boom like a crane...I think its sometimes called a "handy billy".

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

Typos in titles can be humorous.

I created one (a true typo) myself, not long ago.

"Boom Wang" caused me to chuckle.

If you want a moderator can correct the typo for you, if you ask.

Vang or Wang may not make much difference to most.

You were not alone with the chuckle. Typos suck.

[LLCoolDave]

Boom Wang isn't completely wrong. I crewed on a Bavaria and it was labeled from the factory as a boom wang. In german the W has a Vee sound. Of course we enjoyed some jokes about it.

[Jannie Radiance]

How do you sail without one? The top of the sail is always open and spilling pressure!!! When sailing with a spinny, and you are on the edge, cooking away , and a gust hits you, how do you spill some wind to gain control????