Vang Tang Replacement

DJ1

New Member
Has anyone had the problem of the holes on a new ILCA vang tang not matching up with the holes on a Laser (full rig or radial) lower section? I'm curious if there is a general problem in fitting new class legal replacement parts on older class legal spars or if it's a parts sourcing issue with my current dealer. Any feedback would be appreciated.
 
Happened to me several years ago. Although the fittings are supposed to be identical, they aren't! Different builders and dealers have sourced them from different manufacturers at different times. Elongated the holes on the tang with a round file just enough that all the rivets fit. (Doing the same for the holes in the mast sounded like a much worse idea :confused: )

What are your new and old tangs labeled (if anything)? How old is your lower and from where was it sourced?

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Ok, so the mast is (I assume) LP-supplied, the old tang is blank, and the new one labeled "ILCA" isn't a good fit. Where did you get the new tang?

I believe the tangs have been sourced in the past from both (Holt) Allen and RWO. Some have had the "Laser", and now "ILCA" logos, or nothing at all. All are legal, if they are/were supplied by an official Laser/ILCA builder, an official dealer, or are simply identical to those.

(As for how to proceed, read my previous post. There's really no other way out.)

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I resorted to removing a vang tang from a bent radial lower that I purchased new, lasted a couple of outings in the Gorge, and bent. This vang tang did not fit the hole pattern either. After some bending, hammering and elongating of the lower tang holes, it's on the mast. So, to revive a tired old thread, the "class legal" parts are of dubious quality and consistency. This is the equivalent of buying a replacement car starter from the dealer and not having it bolt up. Pretty sad state of affairs.
 
Agree mostly. I my opinion, the quality of the standard, "builder-supplied" fittings is acceptable, but as you just saw, their consistency isn't necessarily. The builders/dealers source these from different manufacturers whose tolerances may not be that tight, and ILCA likely doesn't have the resources/interest to police technical details this small.

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Has anyone had the problem of the holes on a new ILCA vang tang not matching up with the holes on a Laser (full rig or radial) lower section? I'm curious if there is a general problem in fitting new class legal replacement parts on older class legal spars or if it's a parts sourcing issue with my current dealer. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Our business has been selling the Laser/ILCA since the second year of production...and we've seen it all. The original vang tang on the mast had the 3/16" hole for attachment. Now with the new vang arrangement all boats have a 1/4" hole in the vang tang. Just drill it out on the old mast fitting, but do not do it with the mast in the boat. The last thing you want are the bits of metal in the mast step.
 
Doctor, we're talking about different holes. This is about the four through which the tang is riveted to the mast. The problem with them isn't size but alignment.

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there is quite a variation on measurements either to manufacturing and parts are also made in imperial and metric, on my older 642272 boat i had to replace the gudegons, gooseneck and mainsheet pulley all the new fittings (metric) had to be filed out to align
 

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