kicking strap

[30boat]

I have just made a 16 to 1 kicking strap for my Fulmar because the original 4 to 1 was useless.
It works fine and the power is awesome.But I'm worried about the compression loads at the gooseneck wich has a pin of only 8mm in diameter.
Should I fit a 10mm pin or is the existing one up to it?
Thanks.

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[William_H]

You will probably find the pin is ok however if the gooseneck has much play in it the compressive force may tend to cause the gooseneck to buckle. Just watch the gooseneck closely when loaded by the kicker. It can also depend on the angle of the kicker. My boom is close to the cabin top so I can't really use a kicker as most of the effort would be trying to push the boom into the mast. A higher boom would mean half or more of the force pulls the boom down just what you want. ie 45 degrees ormore to the boom. good luck regards will. hoorah boat is back in the water this morning. Tomorrow is last of the winter series then season opens in 2 weeks. I ve been looking forward to this for 5 months. still no kicker boom vang but a good traveller does much the same job

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[Salty John]

The trouble is when you are right off the wind with no kicker you can't stop the boom from lifting. I run the vang to the toe rail, then I can set the mainsheet how I want it and then haul down on the vang to stop the boom lifting and flatten the sail.

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[john_morris_uk]

Although I am sure that your method works well, there are two reasons I might suggest that it is not best practice.

1. If you had a man-overboard or other sudden emergency, it adds unnecessarily to the time required to get the boat back into a position to sail upwind.

2. A friend sailing a large sloop downwind in the tropics which was rigged in such a way lost the boom when the tip of the boom roled underwater.

A properly engineered vang and a preventer to the end of the boom wins hands down in my book. In response to criticism 1 above when using a preventer try rigging it from boom end to foredeck and back to the cockpit so that you can let it go at any time without going forward. The boat will still sail on either tack with it in place but loose.

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[Salty John]

My vang is led back to cockpit and cleated there so it can be instantly released. In fact I use two, one for each tack, so I don't need to go forward to move the vang when moving onto the other tack. Point taken regarding dipping the boom - however, I've dipped the boom a few times while rigged like this and never had a problem. Perhaps because in such conditions I've always been reefed down to the point where the vang is effectively at the end of the boom anyway, at least it is where the foot of the sail ends. It is a good idea to use a preventer from the boom end when running dead downwind with a high possibility of an unintentional gybe and you describe the best way to rig it.

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[jerryat]

Hi Nuno!

I'm a little puzzled as to why you need 16:1 on the vang of your Fulmar. I use a 4:1 tackle pulling a 2:1 aluminium vang i.e total of 8:1. As this is fed back via organisers and a Spinlock XA clutch to a two speed winch, I reckon I could bend the boom in half if needed. Certainly we can flatten the main like a board if we need to de-power it with this set-up. On the other hand, if you are controlling the vang by hand only, I can see the need.

Don't worry about the 8mm pin. The strength of this is more than adequate for the loads you can physically impose on it, and I reckon the greater risk is with the vang connection to the boom. Indeed, I had a new, much heavier duty stainless steel boom/vang connection made which is bolted (8No. 6mm s/s bolts) to the bottom of the boom. Even so, the first one of these broke at the horizontal weld after about two years full time cruising, was then massively re-welded and has been fine for the last 6 years.

Cheers

Jerry

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[30boat]

Hi Jerry
I'm not feeding the kicking strap to a winch so I do need all that purchase.I too worry about the connection to the boom.In my case the attachment point consists of a fitting that slides in the track at the bottom of the boom but instead of relying on the grub screw to hold it in place I bolted a 10cm long square section bar to the track with 4 8mm bolts, in front of it.It has lasted well for the last two years.

cheers

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[snowleopard]

it's a little less convenient but surely you can set a kicker by sheeting in hard first, then you need no power at all. ok you can't tweak it as easily but if you're not racing, who cares?

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[30boat]

you're right of course,that's what I've been doing all along but I'm a compulsive tinkerer and could resist the temptation of making the thing.

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[PeteMcK]

I've a 4 x 2 :1 on my Moo 33 and that's enough to put a fair old bow in the boom. I don't think I'd worry about the 8mm pin. DO be careful: a) not to buckle the boom; b) not to twist the mast off at the gooseneck by bearing away from clos-hauled with the kicker horsed up tight (your setup will be capable of putting a very large torsional force into the mast at the gooseneck level, increasing with the sine of the boom angle to the centreline).

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[Shearwater]

what\'s the kicking strap for?

I have a 4 to 1 kicking strap under my boom but must admit I have never used it - 'cos I don't really understand what it is for. Presumably when on a broad reach you tighten it up to stop the boom lifting but does this make so much difference? We're talking about a 24 ft trailer sailer here. tks n over..

 

[Lakesailor]

That's what I do. When I hoist the sail and am setting it I sheet it hard in the centre and set my kicking strap easily as well as any cunningham I think I need after I've pulled the gooseneck down. Small boats seem to need a bit more tinkering to get a nice set on the main.
Then I forget it all and go for a sail. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif