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Rigid vang and hatch reversal

mordust

Member II
I am seriously looking at rigid boom vangs for our E32-3.
I have seen reasonable reviews on the Garhauer, both for cost and longevity. Any thoughts?
Looks like reversing the direction the hatch opens will be necessary in order to add a rigid vang.
so for those of you who have done this, am I looking at a whole lot of screws to undo in order to remove the hatch?
Or are they all through bolted?

Thanks again in advance!
 

mordust

Member II
Sorry, I meant to add this to my previous post!
Or is it as simple as turning the hatch around by undoing the hinges and mounting them on the forward part of the base?
 

Teranodon

Member III
I installed a Garhauer vang last year and am very pleased with it. I have a bunch of Garhauer gear on the boat. They are easy to talk to, sell you exactly what you need, and the price/quality ratio is excellent.


On my E34, I can open the hatch by easing the vang and sheet, and pushing the boom all the way to the shrouds. It's not a great inconvenience, but it has to be open all the way.
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
Sorry, I meant to add this to my previous post!
Or is it as simple as turning the hatch around by undoing the hinges and mounting them on the forward part of the base?

We added the Garhauer vang system to our E32 - II several years ago and love it. It is an excellent system and worth the money. Our Mk II had the traditional teak hatch that constantly leaked at the corners so modified it with glass work and to accept an aluminum framed hatch. We then simply mounted the new hatch backwards to fit nicely under the solid vang.

Main Salon Hatch.jpg
 

nquigley

Sustaining Member
Again, Christian has an app for that (blog post).

You don't want to just ease the boom way out to let the hatch open fully - if the boom gibes, the vang will tear off your hatch cover.

But, I've been thinking about the pros and cons of reversing the hatch cover. Some clever hatches have hinges forward and aft to facilitate owner's preference, and to adjust to needed circumstances - no need to turn the frame. Maybe they weren't around when our boats were built.

My initial thought is that Ericson must have had very very good reasons for orienting the hatch as they did, so I needed to divine those reasons possible before deciding to follow Christian's lead. In addition to inherent laziness, here are my reasons for not reversing it (yet).
1. At anchor, you'll want it opening forward to catch any prevailing breeze
2. The vang impedes full opening, but my rope vang is attached to the base of the mast with a snap shackle, so it's easy to unclip it to allow as much hatch opening as i want (vang's not needed at anchor)
3. when sailing to weather in any sort of a seaway, you'll want that hatch completely closed - even if it opens afterwards, a lot of spray from the windward bow could go down below, coming in sideways to the open hatch.

Rigid vangs:
These are an excellent choice for racers because they give the main a bit of shape in very light conditions.
I know topping lift lines are a hassle (and if they break with the main down or while lowering it, the boom crashes to the deck (or into someone's head), but unless you have 100% faith in the solid vang, you'll likely keep a rope vang in pace anyway (?)

I think I've decided that I want my foredeck and cabin top hatches to open forwards - mainly for best breeze circulation at anchor. For that reason, I wouldn't want a rigid vang. (now I have a lot of virtual $ to spend on other more urgent upgrades - like an electric windlass...)
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Persuasive.

All year I thought about a rigid vang and about reversing the main hatch on this boat. I decided to change my worn-out vinyl wire topping lift to Spectra, and to keep the main hatch as it is (forward facing; it will open to the first detent if the vang is slacked just a bit).

On the whole I do prefer an aft-facing main hatch, but the difference in practicality is minuscule for me.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
"One Way or the Other"

My SWAG is that EY faced all the hatches forward because the paying customers thought that was what looked "traditional" on a sailboat.
At anchor you can indeed promote additional air flow with that configuration, but under way we used to take spray into both hatches, cabin top and forward hatch, and one time took a wave top into that forward hatch. Never underestimate a steep tug boat wake on a river... :rolleyes:

I did change the cabin top hatch, a smaller size 20 Lewmar, to face aft. No more spray.
When I replaced the forward hatch I left it in the stock position, but we always (!) close it while under way.

A neighbor has been rebuilding (actually more like remanufacturing) a Cascade 36 for crossing oceans and decided to reverse all hatches including the larger forward one. They will be at sea for days and weeks at a time.

Several 'right' answers to the question. Anyone else remember those older alloy hatches with hinge bosses cast into both sides? You could just reverse the lid and reinsert the pins. They might have been Atkins-Hoyle. Maybe.
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
Anyone else remember those older alloy hatches with hinge bosses cast into both sides? You could just reverse the lid and reinsert the pins. They might have been Atkins-Hoyle. Maybe.

Loren,

Yes, the Atkins-Hoyle cast alloy hatches can have the hinge reversed on the frame, IF the frame is aligned in the deck cutout so that the hold-up rod (which dips below deck level when the hatch is closed) can function (has clearance inside the deck cutout) on the other side of the deck cutout. My center hatch frame was offset in the deck cutout and would have required re-mounting the frame.

Also, on the E36RH, the center hatch is located far enough aft of the mast to allow opening up to 45 degrees with the hatch opening forward and a rigid Hall Quickvang installed. Here in the hot Chesapeake, with no A/C, opening forward is the winner hands down. I always close the forward hatch when underway. For spray and (mostly) because it catches the jib sheets.

Mark
 
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Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
On my E34, I can open the hatch by easing the vang and sheet, and pushing the boom all the way to the shrouds. It's not a great inconvenience, but it has to be open all the way.

On my '87 E-34 the hatch opens aft. It has never been changed.
 

KanH

Member II
hatch reversal

I am seriously looking at rigid boom vangs for our E32-3.
I have seen reasonable reviews on the Garhauer, both for cost and longevity. Any thoughts?
Looks like reversing the direction the hatch opens will be necessary in order to add a rigid vang.
so for those of you who have done this, am I looking at a whole lot of screws to undo in order to remove the hatch?
Or are they all through bolted?

I reversed the main hatch on my E30+ and added a Garhauer rigid vang and loved the result. The difference between the old a rope vand and the new rigid one was remarkable. It improved sail handling more than I would have imagined and I have not noticed any airflow at anchor or mooring. Go with the Garhauer vang, it is a great piece of equipment at a great price. Moving the hatch is easy. You will need to move the entire frame and not just the hinges. The only modification is that some of the screw holes don't line up in the new configuration but some filler and a little drill work does the trick.
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
I am seriously looking at rigid boom vangs for our E32-3.
I have seen reasonable reviews on the Garhauer, both for cost and longevity. Any thoughts?
Looks like reversing the direction the hatch opens will be necessary in order to add a rigid vang.
so for those of you who have done this, am I looking at a whole lot of screws to undo in order to remove the hatch?
Or are they all through bolted?

Thanks again in advance!

Hello from a fellow Lake Erie sailor at the NW topmost end of the lake with an E32-II: It’s not that difficult to do and the benefits of the Garhauer system are well worth the work efforts - especially if you even just occasionally race.

My son also came up with a simple preventer system design to keep us from the inevitable downwind accidental jib. It works well. Let me know and we are happy to share it with you as well.
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
I put a Garhauer rigid Vang on our 32-200. It works quite well with no problems. I need to get rid of the superfluous topping lift.
 

frick

Member III
bye bye toping lift hello garhauer

When it was time to replace my toping llift/ I jumped on a Garhuer rigid boom vang.
GREAT upgrade. Very easy to change the pocket in the mail.
High recomended.
Rick
 
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