Vang Key Failure

U

urbo100

Ian
Last weekend on my way back to the beach I heard this bang sound (not a good thing) and noticed that my vang had separated from the boom. When I got back to the beach the culprit was the Vang key from a Harken system. The disk at the top had separated from the bent section. The fitting was less than a year old but was already rusty at the end where it connects to the vang block and there was rust where the little disk had come off. I am meticulous in rinsing of my gear after the race.

In my opinion this should not happen. Has anyone else has a similar failure?

The guy at the laser shop said that some of the Laser fittings are now being made in China. Perhaps from dodgy stainless? He was going to send it back to the supplier to see if they would give me a refund, I'm not hopeful though.
 
It's a known fault, although I haven't ever seen a key break in 35 years of sailing Lasers. Because the keys were known to break, the class rules were modified ages ago to permit you to carry a spare, which many of us did with the old vang set up. Unfortunately the spare key doesn't fit in the new vang block set up. The failure of the key is not intrinsic of where it was made or the material used.
 
Thanks Alan. Guess I'm just lucky! I'll carry a spare from now on.

PS Must find out where we met in Moth days. I used to sail at Narrabeen and Balmoral. Was part of the Narrabeen Mothe Dealer Team. Where did you sail?
 
its possible that its cause by a material defect, slight impurities can cause significant weakness in the structure of a solid material.
 
laserxd said:
its possible that its cause by a material defect, slight impurities can cause significant weakness in the structure of a solid material.
Click to expand...
Very true, but it's virtually equally likely with any likely to be used in the production (certain types of stainless are completely unsuitable for this application).
 
The guy at the laser shop said that some of the Laser fittings are now being made in China. Perhaps from dodgy stainless? He was going to send it back to the supplier to see if they would give me a refund, I'm not hopeful though.
Click to expand...

That's pretty scary. Sourcing metal castings, forgings, or machined components in China can be risky, especially if you are buying on a small lot basis. There are a lot of good suppliers, but there are a lot of bad ones as well. It is kind of like the wild west. My experience is that China is "Commodity Land," and if you need relatively small quantity of a critical item made of a specific material with the certs to confirm it, then the US, EU or India is a better bet.

Regardless of the C.O.O., you should at least get a replacement key.
 
well i heard that laser was making the whole vang setup for about GBP£30.00 and there charging £160.00 i think so its not really suprising that things like kicker keys are breaking i know someone who had the misfortune of a block pin breaking after 18 months
 
I ahve broken a half dozen minimum. It's just about teh cheapest part you can bust. Buy a spare or two and quit fretting.

As for carrying the spare?? With the old vang system two keys fit side by side. I am not certain where I am keeping my spare anymore or even if I am still carrying one.

I have this memory of realizing the old side by side system wouldn't work and tossing one inside my Fatso extension.
 
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