Repairs to #27 are going well, she’s watertight and primed, just waiting for the weather to give us a chance to get the topcoat on. I’m now looking to some of the other works required and fancy going for a solid vang rather than kicker and topping lift. So, what have you guys done? Which ones work and what are the problems?
It is not exactly a solid vang in the sense of a hydraulic piston, but along with my kicker tackle I have used a Barton boom strut and it works well at supporting the boom and keeping it off the cockpit roof if the topping lift fails or is forgotten. Also it is in keeping with the gold spars in the sense that its cream coloured nylon rods and anodised fittings are not grey aluminium which clashes with the gold, but that is personal aesthetics! Depends on your other spars of course. I used the largest rod kit from Barton, on my slab reefing mainsail with slightly heavy ex- Sailtainer boom. I believe their medium length rods would also suffice.