Making a Custom Boom Vang
A boom vang (US) or kicking strap (UK) is a line or piston system on a sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape of the sail. There are a lot of really nice boom vangs for sale that I’m sure are fairly simple to install. We considered buying […]
Measuring for and Installing a Mack Pack Mainsail Cover
We’ve had our new sails and Mack Pack mainsail cover for about a year now and absolutely love them. After using the 106% genoa last year, we decided to get a smaller yankee jib (about 85%). We had some issues using the larger genoa on the river where we sail. The wind is often flukey […]
New Sails and New Sail Track
Last fall we bought new sails and a Tides Marine Sail Track and Slide system (formerly known as a Strong Track). The sails we got from Island Planet Sails in Reno, NV. We were acquaintances with the owner when he briefly had a boat at our marina. Sails After a few hours of measuring, we […]
Cutting the Boom
Weather helm is the tendency of a boat to turn itself into the wind (weather). Too much weather helm and she’s not only hard to steer but slower than if balanced. How do you counteract the tendency for the boat to turn into the wind? You turn the rudder. So, the more weather helm the […]