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OK I am fairly new to sailing, just boat a C&C27 1975
The existing owner says he attaches the boom vang to the toe rail when sailing down wind to prevent accidental Jibe
can the toe rails support this?
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Not a good plan
C&C 27 Mark III 1978
Hull#670
"Shifts and Giggles"
C&C 27 Mark III 1978
Hull#670
"Shifts and Giggles"
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The toe rail is more than capable of supporting the load of a tackle used as a gybe preventer (the loads imposed by a lead block for a genoa could be much higher). I prefer to run a line from the upper mainsheet block attachment forward to a bow cleat if a preventer is required.
I'm not, however, a fan of such arrangements unless there are children on board who are too small to understand sails, or non-sailing guests who are too gormless to understand sailing. Reliance on preventers encourages sloth in the helmsman and the crew, who cease to monitor the wind and their surroundings in the mistaken belief that the whole issue has been taken care of. You're better off fitting a good masthead fly and paying attention to it as a means of preventing gybes.
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
Last edited by (2009-08-12 01:54:32)
David Weatherston
Towser, Toronto
C&C 27 Mk IV
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For the past 24 years, I have rigged my boom vang to also function as a preventer, simply by attaching a snap shackle to the bottom of the vang, which allows me to unsnap it from the base of the mast and snap it onto the toerail, abeam of the mast. The toerail is more than strong enough to handle the load. I cannot count how many times the heads of my racing crew have been saved by this simple procedure and the Admiral (she who must be obeyed) is always quick to insist on a preventer for a dead down-wind run.
HOWEVER, I consider it an essential element of rigging the vang that the line must be long enough to allow a tack or gybe of the boom even while the preventer is rigged. In my opinion, too many sailors who use the vang as a preventer fail to provide for this. If you cannot immediately release the line and gybe the boom, then you have severely limited your manouvering ability. My vang comes back to a rope clutch on the cabin-top so that it can be released immediately, and I always ensure that there is enough free line to allow for a gybe.
During one regatta in which I participated, a crewmember was killed on another boat when an accidental gybe caught him in the head with the boom. On my own boat, I have had crew knocked overboard by an accidental gybe (right in the middle of a start line, it messed up half the fleet). My obligation as a skipper is to ensure that no member of my crew ever ends up injured from an event which I can prevent with a bit of foresight. Since Mother Nature insists on being capricious with her winds, I do not feel that merely keeping a weather eye on the Windex is enough precaution. Just last night, we had a 180-degree windshift in the middle of our down-wind leg, with no prior warning at all. Having the preventer rigged meant that the boom remained under control the entire time.
As a secondary benefit, when the preventer is rigged I can occasionally gain a saving grace or a bit of advantage on the race course through sailing slightly by the lee for short periods of time. This is not a practice to be encouraged (God help us if the preventer fails), but sometimes it helps in a tight or crowded situation.
Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Oakville, Ontario
Marcus Opitz,
Formerly from Carriden, Mk III, Hull #847,
now skippering "Everdina," a 1975 Ontario 32
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Good debate here. Like David, I've always been leery of preventers. My vang has a snap shackle release that will allow it to be moved to the toerail as a preventer, but I've never done so, as I always worry about an accidental gybe that might pin the main on the wrong side and knock us down before I can scramble to the clutch and release the vang. As I'm cruising under white sail, I generally avoid by-the-lee anyway, sailing to 160-170 true except when it's light and I wing-and-wing. But on Sunday I was doing just that when I was surprised by a shift (and I have a wireless tacktic that lets me keep a close eye on wind direction, at least on apparent). Once the boom started crossing it was best just to let it go. On my boat, which has wheel steering and a traveller just in front of the binnacle, that still means a mess of 4:1 mainsheet sweeping across the cockpit and trying to hook people's heads as well as grab my gps plotter on the binnacle and throw it overboard. Waves on Georgian Bay can also give the boom enough momentum in lighter winds to do the same thing. I haven't made my mind up about rigging a preventer. This gives me more to think about over the (don't say it) off-season.Doug Hunter
Diva
C&C 27 Mk1
Midland Bay Sailing Club
www.sweetwatercruising.com
Doug Hunter
Diva
C&C 27 Mk1
Midland Bay Sailing Club
www.douglashunter.ca
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