South Coast Sailboats
Added boom vang
This is a major upgrade for minor bucks in
dealing with the sail shape and overall boat sailing performance.
Boom end sheeting like that found on a South Coast 22 just kind-of-sucks.
As a result of letting the boom fly out to port or starboard,
as the boom gets out there, the downward tension on the boom substancially
drops, almost to just the weight of the boom and lower third of
the main sail. this tends to give you very weak or poor sail shape.
I assembled a boom vang from parts I had collected
at a boat show. This makes a big difference in sail shape on a
boom end sheeted setup such as the SC 22. When the main hangs
out to either the port or starboard side, there is not enough
tension to maintain sail shape. So the simple fix is to connect
a boom vang from the mid boom bail to the base of the mast. This
will greatly improve sail shape on the SC in almost all conditions.
I use a vang I cobbled together from some used parts I picked
up at a boat show. The lower pulley also includes a jam cleat.
This is connected at one end to the center of the boom with a
snap shackel. My boat had a bail already mounted to the center
of the boom. The other end can connect to the base of the mast,
or in my case I had mounted a Stainless Steel Tabernacle Base
that has about twelve holes to connect snap shackles to. From
this position, the sail can fly out to either side, and sail shape
is really very well maintained. This is very helpful in both light
and heavy air, but most notable in light air. In light air, you
get a lot more out of the main if it has a certain amount of tension
on it. You can purchase a vang for 75- to 150 bucks. I built mine
for about twenty bucks. In terms of vang for buck, (sorry for
the pun) this is a real winner of a solution. (Another good recommendation)