Bandit 17 Boom Vang

Dear Sailors,

Here I am at home with a cold and fantasizing about summer breezes. Maybe it is not a bad time to be planning sailing.

I am looking to make my Bandit 17 sail more efficiently this Summer. A boom vang is an obvious way to improve sailing performance, but I cannot figure out how to add one to a Bandit 17. The mast goes through the cuddy and the top of the cuddy is too close to the boom. Maybe I am being dim and there is an obvious solution.

There is no genoa or spinnaker for the boat. Is there a similar and more popular boat I could steal from. Buying new would be out of my budget. I could really use a light wind sail because the rig is fairly small and the jib is kind of limited.

Sailing lessons obviously, but are there any other bright ideas on how to improve my Bandit 17?

Thanks.

Hmmm..... the only Bandit 17 I have ever seen is the picture in this website. It appears in that picture that the boom is high enough. I guess the old saying "pictures can be deceiving" applies here. Or perhaps there was a modification done to that particular boat to put the boom up higher? Can you do something similar with yours? Would you even want to?

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I just don't have any knowledge of the Bandit 17

Paul
Webmaster: sailmfg.com

My first boat was a Holder 12'. It had a boom vang that attached to the mast just an inch above the deck. There was plenty of room. I just got a catalog from Harken (they're free by the way) and they have the tackle available to build your own. It should be fairly easy. Like Paul said if yours is like the picture on this website there should be plenty of room. Go to google and search images of Holder 12 and you'll find lots of pic's of them on their. They all have vangs.