"A Vang Good Idea!"
Hi Ed,
My late-88 Olson 34 came with a gas cylinder vang that could no longer hold up the boom by '94, when we bought the boat. I just cannot remember whose name label was on that vang...
I replaced it with a spring type built locally by a machinist that later sold out to Hood Systems -- I have not seen it on the market since.
As I remember, the gas cylinder version was kind of a one-shot engineered thing. Due to (strictly IMO) thoughtless design, a shackle in one end of the haul-down tackle had worn a hole through one end of the tube, as well. (The gas return cylinder was inside and not a part of the outer aluminum tube.)
You might note that the price of these "rod vangs" has come down a lot since Garhauer entered this market some years ago. A changeover might be worth considering. I was down at the boat today and, while taking some snaps of the gooseneck, included the vang...
BTW, has the SS vang top fitting, inside your boom, broken in half from the up-force? Ours did several years ago and I had to extract it and weld and reinforce it. No worries since. I do not mean to whine, but Kenyon seems to have built everything "just strong enough" and not very much more...
Best,
Loren in PDX
'88 Olson 34
