40/40 Vang attachment slides?

Boat Systems
1

Hello all,

Taking my new boat home this weekend (yes, super cold), I noticed that the bracket at the top of the Selden rod kicker, that attaches it to the boom, slides inside the groove in the bottom of the boom (the same groove that the main sheet blocks slide in). It seems to me that this defeats the purpose of the vang? If the boom were to drop, the vang just slides further aft. If the mainsail pulls the boom up, the vang just slides forward. I haven’t checked for or noticed any hard-stops in the groove to limit the sliding, and the topping lift kept the boom from dropping too much, so I can’t tell. I’ve googled and youtubed, but can’t see that part in action. Can anyone explain to this noob that this is how it’s supposed to work?? Thanks!

2

I don’t think it’s supposed to slide. Do you see any holes for fasteners in the sliding piece that would fix it in place? Or any holes in the track on the boom?

When I replaced my vang, I had to affix the new under-boom fitting to the boom. Finding the correct location in the track was a bit tricky. I used the main halyard to lift the end of the boom so that it was a few degrees above level, temporarily pinned the vang in place through one of the old holes, and added the weight of the sail. It took a few tries to get it right. Once it was at a point where the weight of the sail on the boom brought it to about level, I marked, drilled, and tapped holes, and fastened the fitting to the boom.