Hobie 16 boom vang

I am a new owner of a 40 year-old boat and had a question regarding the usage of a boom vang. I have been searching Youtube videos for the answer and see most people have not rigged a vang. My boom has a tang for a vang. (You see what I did there???) Do I need it, or does the traveler take care of this function? Thanks!

Boom vang is not needed- you are correct, the mainsheet and traveler are all that’s needed.

Hobie hasn’t manufactured booms with that tang for more than 30 years. Suggest you drill out the rivets and remove the tang to eliminate the chance of your crew banging their head into it.

sm

We used a shock cord in real light wind going downwind. It helped keep the rig from shaking from wakes.

We went to jibe and the crew didn't release it and we blew the jibe and the boat got real quiet.

Instead of removing the boom vang on my recently replaced H16 boom, I decided to use it to help store my 6:1 downhaul when I store the mainsail. I put a "S" hook on the bottom of the 6:1 downhaul's lower block so I could quickly connect it to the lower downhaul bracket on the mast. I have a clevis pin in the downhaul's lower mast bracket so the "S" hook can be easily hooked or unhooked from it.

Before taking down my mainsail, I unhook the "S" hook from the downhaul's mast bracket and reconnect it to the boom vang bracket and take up the slack in the downhaul line. This gets the 6:1 downhaul out of the way when rolling up and storing the main sail.

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

Good plan and excellent picture.
Suggestion - switch your mainsheet to Robbline (or equivalent).
Your hands will thank you.

Fair winds

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

John,

The red/white Rooster line (in my pic above) is on my 6:1 downhaul, not my 6:1 mainsheet.

I use the RLM9SW 9mm silver/white magic sheet for the mainsheet.

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

A-ha !
You've helped with a great time saving idea.

I will now experiment with an S hook at the lower end of the 6-1 downhaul, to save time when rigging.
However, a question: We often loosen the downhaul when running.
Does this mean that the S hook will become unhooked when bouncing through waves?

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

John,

When connecting the "S" hook to the clevis pin (of the downhaul's mast bracket) slip the "S" hook on from above the clevis pin (instead of from below the clevis pin). This way it will stay hooked when you have no tension on the downhaul line.

Also, crimp the part of the "S" hook, where it connects to the downhaul's lower blocks, so that it doesn't come off.

I also took the clips off of both the top and bottom blocks so that they can be rotated around their posts (that have the holes thru them for connecting shackles). This allows you to rotate the blocks around their posts, so they align properly.

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

Very nice tip, Tim! The only thing I would change out would be to get a stainless S hook so you don't end up with rust stains on your sails over time.

_________________
Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"

ASDASC, Steve,

I agree that the "S" hook needs to be Stainless Steel. The picture I posted was from when I was first testing different ways to hook the 6:1 downhaul to the boom vang and mast's downhaul lower bracket, and I didn't have a SS "S" hook at that time. Once I felt good about the arrangement, I replaced all hardware with the right size and SS.

I'll take another picture and keep it on my PC for future use.

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

I know that the boom vang has gone out of fashion on the 16 but I would like to use it to stop my mast counterrotating in light winds and swell. Has anyone got a picture of how it was rigged up in the old days, I used in on the Hogs Breath in 1988 but cant remember how it was set up to connect the boom with the dolphin striker. Be very grateful for advice

The convenience of storing the downhaul there wouldn't - for a second - justify the scalp-scraping potential of that tang staying in place.

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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages