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hi
went out sailing on sunday, think I may have tensioned the boom vang too much because the large metal sail slug attached to the clew of the main pulled out of the boom track (see photo). It also tore open the end of the boom bag and broke the zip. I intend to put the sail slug back into the track but also wanted to find a way to secure something through the eyelet on the clew and around the boom so it is not just relying on the sail slug. Any ideas, thanks in advance.
I suspect that the vang had nothing to do with the failure, the vang will never put that much downward pressure on the boom that far away from the mast. The slug and the boom were probably ready to part company anyway and it's one of those situations where you don't minutely inspect everything every time you go sailing and as such the failure was just waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. Think of it as one of those "The straw that broke the camels back" kind of situations.
Possibly a better way of controlling the clew is with a wide webbing loop around the boom and that way all the pressure is taken by the entire boom and not just the lips of the track.
Dyneema soft shackle ...you can buy them made up or easily as make your own.
Make one long enough to go right round the boom.
We use a Velcro webbing strap that wraps around the boom & thru the clew ring - no need for the slug. Gemmell sails on vic road Drummoyne have them on the shelf ready to go. However looks like your boom bag may get in the way a bit ?
I use a 6mm one for my headsail, brilliant bit of kit. Bought it off eBay, $20 odd dollars including postage.
Correct the tighter it pulls the more it locks together ..like a slip knot ( if you watch the video you will see how the cores bind up),
benefits are you can have different lengths , they are soft so they won't damage your boat or people when say the jib clew is flogging around (if you have ever been on the receiving end of a big shackle going ape shyt on the clew of a flogging jib you will know what I mean), they will not corrode , very very light , easy to use you don't need a spanner or shackle key to do up or undo , . With some very simple tools and a bit of dyneema you can make these things , ( imagine if you were on a cruising yacht in the middle of nowhere and you needed some shackles ... As long as you packed some rope you laughing ).
They are just the benefits I can rattle off the top of my head .
Also
The leash pulls the inner core towards the loop end so you can undo the shackle.obviously you have to take the load off before you undo it , it's not like say a piston shackle you would have on a spinnaker brace ,you would need to fire under load.
oh yeah.... i can see how a vang could do that.
could you put a bolt through the track maybe?
I bought some sails a few years ago from Fareastsails and they offered both a round metal slug and
a 1 meter long velcro strap. I have used the slug without difficulty. The problem is that the sail is
loose foot and a Velcro strap does not slide easy as I set the sails draft. The slug slides in the track
and provides much better draft control. Fareast suggest the slug with loose footed sails, but they also
send me a strap in case I wanted to go that way.
My sail is full batten with 2 reefs. Sails are very good - Good source for sails.
Ian
Yes, looks like I will be using a strap with Velcro. Maybe my slug was not big enough and just pulled through track.
