Rigid Vang And Topping Lift

[Paul Seamons]

I am anticipating adding a rigid vang to my 43 ft HC Christina cruising boat. I welcome your thoughts and comments about whether a rigid vang will make my topping lift superfluous. Can I remove the topping lift and do without? If I leave it along with the new rigid Vang, that's just one more control to mess with, if it is not needed.

Also my current inclination is to purchase a Garhaeur Vang. Reports I have received are universally positive regarding functionality and economy. Any comments, testimonials or caveat emtors are welcome

[Russ L]

Hi Paul,
I have a rigid vang on my 35' C&C. There is no topping lift. I believe the primary purpose of the rigid part of this vang is to get rid of the topping lift. Otherwise considering the complications that can arise from this simple machine it would definately not be worth the expense and effort.
Try searching the archives of this site for insight on ways to properly mishandle this seemingly benign piece of gear.
Be very careful with proper alignment of the pivot pin in realtion to your boom gooseneck pin.

Good luck, Russ L

[Ian McColgin]

Ahoy Paul et al,

Just a voice from a cromeudgeon.

I've used rigid vangs on boats for racing, where getting rid of the topping lift had some value, but for cruising:

How easy is it to reef in a hard chance, let's add some sleat, without a topping lift to get the clew up and to provide some real support as you hang leaning against the boom on a canted and heaving deck tying in the points? At my over 250# (trying to loose some) I'd probably break the boom on the roll-snap-back in the trough.

Don't you have lazy jacks that might be convertable to Lazy Lifts (LazyIans mid-Nantucket Sound) ? If not, how do you ever live without them?

All to the point that the topping lift or lazy lifts are very important controls as conditions worsen and provide extra lines - for safety if nothing else - when going aloft on a bad day to re-reeve that broken hallyard.

I'm not saying don't go for the rigid vang. Just don't completely get rid of the topping lift, even if you mostly sail with it belayed down along the shroud and rig it only when the wind is getting on to a Fresh Breeze (Force 5) and due to go higher.

G'luck

Ian

[Roy Moss]

My 32' sloop has a halyard type topping lift along with an excellent (Garhauer) rigid vang. The lift supports a pendant from which a flaking system is suspended. If run through a proper sheave, the lift can be a messenger for a spare main halyard, or the spare itself. Also provides a firmer boom suspension than the vang spring -- see previous post.

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
First, Garhauer makes the best vang for the money. In fact, I'm having a hard time these days coming up with any reason to buy the spendier brands. Hall typically has stouter mast and boom fittings, but you can get stout ones from Garhauer, at some extra cost.
As for eliminating the lifts, well, right now we are dealing with a mast fitting with stripped fasteners; if it hadn't been caught, the owners might have been out there with a dangling vang, and no topping lift. So at the least I'd like to see lazyjacks as backup lifts, as well as for their ostensible function. And all this assumes proper design and installation, which is after all the hardest part.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[RoyB]

Lest we forget, a rigid vang (or for that matter, a topping lift) can be useful on those whispery light air days to take some of the weight of the boom off the main to help the leach fly more open and free.

A topping lift should always be fitted to every cruising sailboats' boom's.
My reasons are as follows, some were sited already above ^, and some the main halyard can do if it has to...

A topping lift can secure the boom for handling at a convienient height for sail handling, while still allowing the sail to be trimmed correctly through a wide range of wind conditons. A spring loaded Rigid vang is much more difficult to adjust through its ranges than a rope lift.

A topping lift is a great aid to getting a jify reefed mainsail to set properly. Again this is because a spring loaded vang is not easy to adjust . A spring loaded rigid vang is normally set for use with the full mainsail, however reef points on a cruiser should progressivly increase the angle of the boom above horizontal. This shortens the leach of the mainsail for more contol over the sail shape and gets the boom up a bit further from the sea. (some boats these days have booms so high this hardly matters to them ) With the spring of the vang not providing support becasue the boom now sits higher, the weight of the boom and strain of the mainsheet disort the smaller mainsail which they have a much greater leverage avanatage over , a topping lift can support some of this load.

A topping lift can allow you to top you boom up high to support your awning at a nice walking-under height, without having to move you boom gooseneck up an loose the sail area you need when sailing.

A topping lift can allow you to use your boom and main sheet (or other tackle) as a Lifting Boom.

A topping lift can be a second main halyard when set up correctly.

Rigid Vangs make some sense to Racers, where the windage of a second halyard, and weight aloft, are dispenced with. For racers and Day sailors the owners often has someboay else that would be responsible for setting the lift up at the end of the day, and they dont want to risk having the boom land on deck becasue that person didn't make the T/L fast correctly. Also these boats usually sail fair weather conditons, and near home port, so the failures of rigid vangs are not big problems, just expensive.

A topping lift should surely be fitted to every cruising boat. It is worth its weight and relativly small expence. A rigid vang cannont do every job a topping lift can do, and can be broken , or cause booms and fitting to break, if they are handled incorrectly. Topping lifts much less frequently cause disabling damage, unless you forget to set it up correctly !
I quite prefer them.

I do not know the Garhauer Vang, but am familiar with the Hall, Forespar, Selden, etc... types.



Brian Duff

[mjf1944@comcast.net]

I read all the comments and agree, but nobody mentioned that the garhauer vang is spring loaded. I have one on my Crealock 34. I tried removing the topping lift, but when trying to reef with my body partially hanging over the boom I was almost launched into space by the spring unloading. Keep the topping lift. If your worried about weight use a UHMWPE braid instead of what you have now.