Hi,
There's a sail on boom kickers at:
http://shop.catalinaowners.com/boomkicker/detail-bk.tpl?fno=20&cart=1112041245135462
Has anyone experience with these?
Thanks,
Tony B
#903 Helen C
Tony : I see that it'll cost you $175 for that kicker, while a Garhauer rigid vang is about $350. :wink:
I don't have any experience with the boom kicker but am considering one at the moment.
I like the look of the idea but not sure about the pros and cons of them.
The Garhauer rigid vang is nice not only because it's spring loaded
(lifts the boom in light air and obviates the need for a topping lift) but
it has tremendous purchase so you can really flatten the main
when sailing down wind even without putting the line on a winch.
But if you like the vang that you have it looks like the kicker is a less
expensive option, and a bit lighter as well.
Finally a rigid vang or kicker controls the boom, making it more stable
when reefing (same stability as if you eased the main sheet and
tightened the topping lift without trouble).