I suspect that the vang had nothing to do with the failure, the vang will never put that much downward pressure on the boom that far away from the mast. The slug and the boom were probably ready to part company anyway and it's one of those situations where you don't minutely inspect everything every time you go sailing and as such the failure was just waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. Think of it as one of those "The straw that broke the camels back" kind of situations.

Possibly a better way of controlling the clew is with a wide webbing loop around the boom and that way all the pressure is taken by the entire boom and not just the lips of the track.

We use a Velcro webbing strap that wraps around the boom & thru the clew ring - no need for the slug. Gemmell sails on vic road Drummoyne have them on the shelf ready to go. However looks like your boom bag may get in the way a bit ?

Toph said..

What's the purpose of the 'leash' I think he called it in that video

Don't really need the leash , just makes them easier to release /undo. These things are light as a feather and as strong as hell.

An example , a 9 mm softy has a safe working load of 18000 lbs and a breaking load of 26000 lbs , and probably 10 times lighter than the stainless equivalent .

We use them for jib sheets , halyards , and attaching blocks to pad eyes on the deck ect , just about anything you would use a shackle , piston clip or halyard shackle for you can use these things.

www.google.com.au/search?q=soft+shackle&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=99sXUpSNGa-XiQe2qoHIBA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672

Graham. you must just about own ebay by now.

Correct the tighter it pulls the more it locks together ..like a slip knot ( if you watch the video you will see how the cores bind up),

benefits are you can have different lengths , they are soft so they won't damage your boat or people when say the jib clew is flogging around (if you have ever been on the receiving end of a big shackle going ape shyt on the clew of a flogging jib you will know what I mean), they will not corrode , very very light , easy to use you don't need a spanner or shackle key to do up or undo , . With some very simple tools and a bit of dyneema you can make these things , ( imagine if you were on a cruising yacht in the middle of nowhere and you needed some shackles ... As long as you packed some rope you laughing ).

They are just the benefits I can rattle off the top of my head .

Also
The leash pulls the inner core towards the loop end so you can undo the shackle.obviously you have to take the load off before you undo it , it's not like say a piston shackle you would have on a spinnaker brace ,you would need to fire under load.

saltiest1 said..

out haul or vang?

outhaul slug pulled out

I bought some sails a few years ago from Fareastsails and they offered both a round metal slug and
a 1 meter long velcro strap. I have used the slug without difficulty. The problem is that the sail is
loose foot and a Velcro strap does not slide easy as I set the sails draft. The slug slides in the track
and provides much better draft control. Fareast suggest the slug with loose footed sails, but they also
send me a strap in case I wanted to go that way.

My sail is full batten with 2 reefs. Sails are very good - Good source for sails.

Ian