Boom Vang

[Onthemoon]

Hello, we have an Admiral catamaran that currently has a rope to tension/adjust. Question is can this vang be replaced with a spring loaded or fixed option. I would like to use the routing the lines (back to the helm) and move my main halyard to the helm.

Thanks in advance OTM

[danstanford]

Depending on your mainsheet to boom attachment a fixed vang can present a significant risk of boom breakage from tightening the mainsheet. On my monohull I have a springloaded vang with a cam cleat on the end of vang so it can be adjusted at the vang but I am not certain you could reach it on your cat.

The vang is mostly important when you are going downwind and the boom is far from the centerline with little downward pressure on the boom. In this situation the vang can be used to remove some of the twist from the main to lessen the power lost out the top of the sail. Being able to loosen the vang is useful in the opposite situation when you want to de-power the main by letting the boom rise and the main to twist off.

[chris mac]

We have a tpi 42 catamaran. So different boat, but I just installed a rigid boom vang. So far it has been working great.
So I don't see why you can't, but it would be best to consult a rigger who works on cats often
Nice boat by the way, Admirals were on my short list when I was shopping

[Cheechako]

I would ask yourself how much do/would you use a vang?
Rigid vangs are cool, but as mentioned they can stress the hardware.

Can you lead the main halyard back without it sitting up high on the cabin top? If not how will you crank it?
With a stable platform like a cat it seems going to mast is easy and keeps things simple.