Typhoon Boom Vang & luff tension

[swhfire21]

I bought my first Typhoon this summer and found it to be a wonderful boat to sail. Comfortable and stable with no gymnastics required. Its actually the first boat I've owned that is not almost 90 - 100% dependent upon the location of the occuants to keep it up in the winds in south jersey (previous boats included JY16, AMF Sunbird, AMF minifish). However, I did notice a few things about the running rigging/sails and am not sure if these are normal for the TY or related to the previous owner's set up.

I have a boom vang and am finding the low angle (with the boom) makes the vang hard to tighten to any extent. In fact, I not sure how much benefit I am really getting from it. The vang appears to be a kit with the cam cleat integrated with one of the sheaves. Is this a common problem with the Typhoon given the limited height between the boom and and cabin top and has anyone figured out a way to impove it?

Also, the goose neck is held in place vertically by thumb screw stops above and below it (not sure what to call them, their essentially sail slugs with a thumb screw). No matter what I did this summer I could not get a reasoable amount of tension on the luff using the halyard and had to use the forward reefing line as a cunningham. It seemed that the head of the sail was stoppingg short of the block on the halyard. So far the only thing I've noticed is that the plastic on the top slug is worn through where it contacts the track and the steel loop in the slug is visible. I now have the mast down (Thank to Sandy and having to send her out for fiberglass repairs) and will give the track and blocks a good look at. Is there anything that sound wrong/problematic with this set up or particular problems I should be looking for?

Thanks

[Dick Villamil]

There should be a line from the bottom of the gooseneck slide in the mast track that you can use as a cunningham to draw the boom down after the main is at full hoist. I also had a problem with the vang and made some changes as follows:
a) take a sail slide that has a stainless arch and plastic slider (sail slug) (commonly use for the J24 sail slug) then attach a shackle to it.
b) insert the slug into the base of the mast before you step the mast - that will give you about 6 or 8 inch lower purchase on the vang and improve its performance 100%
c) attach the other end to the boom at its normal location - about 2 feet aft of the gooseneck.

The cam cleat works best near the bottom by the mast but it also works OK on the boom - whatever is easiest for you. I use a 3:1 purchase system (kind of a simple system with a stainless cable th==and a ball at the end that inserts into the fitting on the boom. That way I can remove it when I secure the v=boat when I am away.

Sorry to hear of your problems with Sandy - some of my fondest memories were on the Jersey shore when in college there - sad to see the infrastructure has been severely damaged.

The Typhoon is a beauty to sail - I have a 1976 weekender that I restored for==rom the scrap pile - she sails like a much bigger boat - while retaining the intimacy of being close to the water! Do you have a mast compression post? If not you should consider installing one.

[swhfire21]

Mine is a weekender also and yes, it does have the compression post. I'll take a look at securing the vang at the base of the mast. Will the slug stay in place by itself or will a stopper/thumb screw be needed to keep it from riding up in the track. However, I'll have to see if it would interfere with the directional blocks that the reefing lines and topping lift are secured to (on a bail just above mast step).

I noticed the ring on the bottom of the gooseneck last season and was going to set up a down haul as suggested. However, I don't see where it is supposed to be run to/secured. I'm out of cleats on the cabin top, where are most people leading the downhaul to? I had considered installing a cleat in the lower sail track (sold for Hobie cats).

In regards to the storm I was very lucky. Our boat ended up with just a bunch of gel coat scaches/gouges and a few more gel coat cracks in cockpit floor and at the cabin/deck joint (all being repaired). She ended up being suspended with her bow on a bulkhead and stern on top of a floating dock (you read that right, a flaoting dock). The biggest problem now is that the insurance company insisted on totaling her which is going to make it difficult to get her re-insured.

[Dick Villamil]

I forgot to mention that I have a cleat installed in the sail track about 6-8" above the tabernacle pin that I use for the downhaul attachment. This cleat has a compression cylinder to prevent it from moving up the track and can easily be removed or readjusted. You could also just attach it with a couple of threaded bolts. Use some teflon or lanolin grease to isolate the stainless from the aluminum to prevent any electrolysis in the salt water environment. Not an issue where I keep my Ty on Lake George. I inserted the boom vang device at the bottom of the sail track below the pin that holds the mast in the tabernacle - but you can't forget to install it prior to stepping the mast - otherwise it goes a bit higher below the downhaul cleat. The idea is to increase the angle that the vang makes with the boom as much as possible. I also installed a CD1 roller furler for the small genny I have and it is really easy to sail out or into the dock. I made it even easier when I attached a small pully at the top of the mast then used a small line as a topping lift that cleats to the mast and attached to the end of the boom. That allows you to reef without dropping ths boom on the deck or to drop the main while docking under rolled furling jib. I find that the backstay pigtail was a real problem when sailing single handed or when trying to prepare for leaving or entering the bay to dock. It also looks better when the boom is horizontal whan the sail is stowed under the sail cover - makes the boat look bigger than she actually is! If I have any photos I will let you know and then get your email and send them to you as a reference - I also have a neat removable mast compression post that I developed after reading many posts on this board regarding it.

If the boat is totaled by the insurance company perhaps you can buy it back for salvage value while collecting the totaled value then apply that to self insuring it or as I did - add it to your home owners policy.

[Randy Capstick]

Hi Steve,

I purchased a downhaul cleat from rigrite made specifically for the Typhoon mast section. It consists of an aluminum tube with a cleat attached. The tube slides into the mast groove and is attached by screws that keep in in place. You can position the downhaul cleat anywhere below the gooseneck in a position that doesn't interfere with your boomvang. Here is the link from Rigrite...

http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/SparParts/ ... n%20Cleats


click on image to make larger.

Hope this helps.

Randy

[Dick Villamil]

That downhaul cleat is exactly what I have only my cleat is older and bare aluminum. I inserted the vang device in the mast track below the exit housing for the halyards to gain the best purchase for the vang. It slips into the mast track prior to stepping the mast and I attach a lanyard from the slug for the vang to the downhaul cleat to keep it in place while stepping the mast. So far it works perfectly. I once forgot to insert it prior to stepping the mast and merely installed it below the downhaul cleat - not the best but it worked.

[ariasis]

@dick v. I'm planning on installing a compression post this spring to support a mast head spinnaker. Do you have any pictures? I'd like mine to be removable for sleeping in the v berth..

[swhfire21]

Dick and Randy, thanks I purchased the parts suggested and am looking forward to trying them out when I re-rig the boat. I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but have been having password problems that just got resolved.

On another note, I stopped by to check out the fiberglass work being done on my boat and it looks awesome. In the end, its probably a good thing Sandy took a bite out of the rudder. When they were working on the repair (at base of rod) they found the gudgeon at the base of the keel was coming out. She's now as good as new.

I also bit the bullet and had them take at least 20+ years of bottom paint off which revealed some very minor blistering in a couple of spots. Going to have it barrier coated.

Take care,

[Markst95]

I had posted this pic earlier on another boom vang post but couldn't find it. The sailslug bottoms out on the halyard sheave housing. It stays in place and is very easy to attach\detach.

[swhfire21]

Thanks for the pic. I bought the slug to set this up when the mast goes up. I'm surprised someone does not make a more permanent fitting for this. Is that vang hard to release, it looks tight to the deck?

[Markst95]

I usually have the hatch closed, still pretty tight, I usually release it to the side.

[swhfire21]

Are most using a 3:1 vang? I was thinking of bumbing mine up to 4:1 as I'll sometime use it while closehauled to make up for the lack of a traveler.

[Markst95]

Mine is too much in my opinion, I just had it so I used it. I wouldn't think you would ever need more for a Ty.

[swhfire21]

I may add a 3 - 6 inch loop of line between the eye of the slug and the shackle on the lower block. This should bring the cam cleat about 2 - 4 inches higher above deck to provide more clearance for releasing the cam cleat. This will maintain the same purchase on the boom and shouldn't affect the pull on the line too much assuming your standing/sitting in the cockpit.

I looked around for a vang set that would reverse the cam cleat (release with upward pull) and so far I've only found a Harken Carbo fiddle (with reversible cam cleat) that would work. About $250 bucks for matching blocks, so I guess I'll experiment with extending the lower block out for about $2 of rope first.

[swhfire21]

Markst95 - You're probably rght on the 3:1. I just found (another post) that I was losing almost a foot of height on the boom because an eyesplice on the main halyard was jamming up in the top halyard sheave. Between fixing that (replacing splice with knot) and lowering the anchor point on the mast, my vang issues should be resolved. Thanks again