GO, I first thought your mechanically-challenged wife had all those "pedals, stalks, knobs, buttons....", and you still found her easy to control; gotta change the prescription on my glasses :-) Seriously, I have read about all this at one time or another, but never bothered to put it into practice. This somewhat explains why I am such a slow sailor after 30 years, but I still love it. Rather than asking the "should I use a vang" question, when I already had decided I needed one, I should have asked whether one can effectively be deployed from the mast base at a 45 degree angle. My past experience with a vang was on my BOHB (Big Old Heavy Boat), a NS 27, where I attached it to the handrail with a large rubber snubber for downwind travel. It worked okay, but was a hassle to jibe singlehanded. Anyway, your instructions are very informative, and I hope those tuning in will take them to heart. Speed and safety on a sailboat make the sport more fun, and they get you to those beautiful anchorages before dark, if you are into such things. Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla On Jul 9, 2011, at 4:57 PM, GILASAILR@aol.com wrote:

Tom,

Sometimes people seem to think of 'sail controls' as a hassle or something else to rig or that 'gets in the way'. There is a purpose for all of these sometimes confusing parts of rigging and all are beneficial NOT just for racing. I believe you know all of this but for the others - here we go -

Boom Vang is used to :

Control the amount of twist in the mainsail (sail shape control).

Induce bend in mast (usually lower section) in some type of boat (BTW - a powerful vang will impart bend in a 17 mast)

Prevent the boom from skying - lifting uncontrollably downwind.

Upwind-

Generally- or as a starting point - one should use the vang to adjust twist in the mainsail such that under 'ideal' sailing conditions (flat water moderate breeze) the top batten is in line (parallel to) the boom. This is a starting point for reference. Recommend putting a telltale on EACH batten end of the sail (just below or above the batten pocket) at the trailing edge of the sail.

The goal is to adjust Mainsheet tension, Vang tension, and angle of attack (traveler for those folks that use them) to get the lower three telltales flying straight back off the leech of the main and the TOP telltale flying aft 50% and stalled 50% of the time. This will usually give you a good set of feedback as to wether the sail is properly trimmed. (I no longer use telltales at the 'max draft' position -although they may also be of help in getting the main trimmed). Whatever works best.

When the boat is starting to be a bit over powered upwind - you may want to ease the vang a bit to 'open' the leech at the top batten and allow more twist in the sail - check after the vang is eased to make sure you can keep the telltales flying as noted above. You should feel the boat exhibit a bit less heeling and consequently more in control.

Downwind-

Reach- the telltales trim comments from above apply again, usually a bit more Vang tension is required due the mainsheet being less effective at controlling the boom from the tendency to lift when sheeted out. ( on the rare occasion that you are reaching in HEAVY air and the boom starts dragging in the water to the lee - ease the vang or assign someone to 'blow the vang' when the boat is knocked down and the boom is causing you to spin- out - we usually don't see this condition in our stubby little boats - FYI kinda thing.

Run- ideal conditions (flat water moderate air) is used to tension leech of sail so that the mainsail will show 'maximum projected area' - fancy term for 'as big as it can appear' boom usually approx. parallel to the horizon. The leech telltales will be stalled and bouncing all over - if they do all happen to flow to leeward side of the main - you are sailing 'by the lee - fast but you will need to be alert for the forthcoming 'unintended jibe' - Vang is usually kept 'on' while on a run and is eased a bit when coming up to a reach. Be sure to keep passengers clear of vang mechanism when jibing -

Boom Vangs are not attached to the rail of the boat - it has at that point become a 'preventer' - the use of a preventer may find you at the sailmaker looking to repair your mainsail when the boat jibes and the boom does not - hard on the sail and generally will wreak 'CF'* havoc on the boat when this happens (great for introducing friends to the "Sport")

After all this blathering from some guy - we can say - 'too confusing - I don't need one' - truth is you don't - But I do know my mechanically challenged wife's Camry has more controls than my little boat has and she does 'just fine' with a plethora of pedals, stalks, knobs, buttons, slides etc.!

The learning and application of sail controls are a PART of what attracts some folk to the sport - others (I have my days) say - 'I just want to float around - no strings for me' .

If you want to improve your skills, if you want to have more and better control over the boat, if you want to be better able to sail the boat in adverse or challenging conditions - it is an asset to know what works and makes you a better prepared and safer sailor. If you don't want more 'stuff' on your boat - this here is the USA and you are exercising the most free sport there is - Good on ya.

Now who raised their hand about a 'Cunningham'? Barber Haul ?? Majick Twanger?

Take Care, Have Fun, Go Sailing ! GO M-17 # 316 its waaaay too hot to sail so I am wasting my life at the Internet - almost at the end though.

* CF - Cowboy Fun????

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