vang

Not such a silly idea - as I recall from the Ben Ainslie book, he used to sail downwind in light airs sitting around the centreboard with his front foot against the vang/kicker to keep the boom out....

Bit I think's called the kicker because it stops the boom kicking up. It's more properly called the kicking strap...
 
Before the upgraded vang, the books show sailors holding the boom down with their foot to be able to get enough vang on. I figured that was why it's called kicker.
 
chrisfsi said:
so where the heck did the term "vang" come from??:confused:
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Hey, good question. Websters says the origin of the word is from the Dutch word "vang", meaning "a catch." How cool is that? I didn't know I spoke any Dutch.
 
torrid said:
Like most things on sailboats, from hundreds of years of nautical tradition.
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Im pretty sure that the kicker is a relatively new concept, as in it came about in the last 100 years or so. Have seen pictures of national 12s sailing without them in strong wind, looks very strange and scary....
No idea where the word vang came from though.
L
 
did someone say kicker?

soccer_kick.jpg
 
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