Kicking Strap Key Missing

[Dave-Shafa]

My Kicking Strap Key is missing
on the kicking strap setup I have on my Valiant 18'.
(Reliance marine seem to have everything at great expence)

Is there anything I can use to put in the slot?
Is a kicking strap really nessesery?

 

[Seashoreman]

You need a tight kicking strap. Look it up, or try sailing without.

 

[ianat182]

Depending upon the type of boom fitting,some of these keys fit into a small recess or keyhole -type aperture, others are adjustable along a groove in the bottom of the boom with thumbscrews to tighten into a specific position. The former types are usually a small alloy casting with a hole to take the shackle pin of the upper block; another is made from stainless formed with 'ears' that fit into track or keyhole slot. Look amongst the dinghy fittings in your local chandlery.
I have just paged through the Pinnel and Bax Catalogue and they have these on -line @
£2.31 and £4.48 each depending whether you need one that is curved. Their online
ref is www.pinbax.com -and page 74 of the catalogue items 74SA312(item j) and 74-SA873( item K )for the curved one.

regards

ianat182

 

[William_H]

Do you need a kicking strap? The real answer is variable. It is often called a boom vang. It pulls the boom down witha tackle from a point along the boom from the gooseneck down to a point on the mast. It is set up so that the boom is pulled down regardless of swing of the boom from port to starboard. It can apply pressure to flatten the mainsail and when running with the mainsheet free it stops the boom rising. A boom can rise so far that a chinesse gybe occurs where the top half of the mainsail is out one side the bottom half out the otherside. (not good)
The power of a kicking strap can vary from 8 or 16 to one to pull boom down to just a wire strop to stop boom rising. Much depends on the distance between themast base and the cabin top on a typical keel boat. If this distance is small compared to the length of the boom then you can not get much power in the kicking strap. Simple geometry. If the attachment to the boom is 1 metre from the gooseneck ona 2.5 metre boom then the power will depend on the angle of the kicking strap tackle to the boom. if it goes down 1 metre below the gooseneck you have a 45 degree angle to the boom so great pull down power. If however if you only have 30cms from gooseenck down to kicking strap attachment you will have a poor pulling angle so not much power. The kicking strap will be trying to press the boom into the mast more than pull it down.
A wide mainsheet traveller can do a similar job of pulling the main sail down (tightening the leach). So you let the traveller far out and pull mainsheet tight. Same job much more power.
On the other hand a series of racing boats here have no traveller just a powerful kicking strap (vang) The mainsheet the vang and the backstaytensioner all apperar out of a box in the middle of the floor of the cockpit. Mainsheet hand works all 3 for gusts etc so is constantly changing the shape of the mainsail. I can't say I like it.
Back to your question. I have a loose footed main sail. so boom vang attachment fro what it is worth is as strap of webbing around the boom attached at one point so it can't slide forward (2 turns) with a shackle through the loops at the end of the webbing. There are all sorts of ways to attach the kicker without using a key. good luck olewill