No vang or traveller? Jolly strange!

[Lord Chunderguts]

Hello chaps, may I get your advice? My Mk1 has a floating boom (the gooseneck runs in a vertical track a few inches long) and a downhaul instead of a vang. It also has no traveller. I know several Mk1s have no traveller, was this Illingworth's design, or was someone trying to save a few quid when setting up the rigging? All my mainsail controls go to cleats on the mast and boom, there are no lines going back to the cockpit. The only cockpit controls are the two winches on either side and a cleat beside each winch. Can anyone suggest why the vessel was rigged this way? I intend to set up the boat for short handed sailing soon, any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you chaps, cheerio!

Top Hat mast step 1.jpg (711.31 KiB) Viewed 3581 times

[Shaun]

Small block under gooseneck just looks like a downhaul, a Cunningham if you like for the unreefed mainsail.
I'd suggest ou definitely need a vang, particularly if you don't have a traveller.

[Lord Chunderguts]

Thank you Captain, shall add a vang and a traveller asap, I'm just kinda baffled that this boat's gone fifty years without a vang. There are definitely no holes on the underside of the boom, no evidence it's ever had a vang. Oh well, life is full of mysteries. Best wishes chief, Cheerio!

[RohanJ]

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Some yachts use a double mainsheet. One going to either side of the cockpit to alleviate the need and intrusion of the traveller.

Maybe worth looking into.

The guy from the YouTube channel, “Learning by Doing” makes the change and gives an explanation.

https://youtu.be/LvMVMoS4btY (3:26 min)

[Lord Chunderguts]

Thank you Captain, shall investigate. That may have been set up previously, there are holes in the mast at the right spots. My boat currently has this oddity to attach the mainsheet. (Rigging is currently in a horrendous state, everything will be fixed soon. May add a boom gallows too, seems a sensible idea to reduce wear on rigging.)

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[Wild Rose]

Looks like your boom was set up for "Roller Reefing" the main. I say "was" as it looks like it cant now.

[Phillip]

Looks like your boom was set up for "Roller Reefing" the main. I say "was" as it looks like it cant now.

Spot on Dave, now you mention it. it's obvious

[Phillip]

Boom roller gear

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I think this is close to the roller gear.
Seems you are missing the worm gear and handle.

[Phillip]

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This would explain the lack of a vane.

[Lord Chunderguts]

Thank you so much chaps, that's a tremendous help. My boat is nearly a thousand miles away, so I can't get to it for a few weeks. It looked like this when I bought it:

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I took down the flag when it was dark so I didn't get to examine anything, but by the next day the vessel had slightly improved to this:

Top Hat improved Dec 2020.jpg (94.52 KiB) Viewed 3539 times

The original owner passed away, and his son sold her to me, he knew very little about her. Shall have the little blighter sailing the moment I have two cents to rub together.
I intend to do many long sea trips, some people say roller-furling booms are dangerous because they can jam during a fierce storm, is this less of a problem on a smaller boat like a TH? Would you recommend never using a roller boom for extended sea trips, or can a capable chap handle it easily? I have a trip to NZ on the horizon, and intend to take her much further afield in the coming year or two.
Thank you for your help lads, it makes things very easy.
Shall get your advice on adding extra stays to the mast sometime down the track, I want the flagpole as strong as possible for knockdowns/rollovers, would prefer not to have it torn off. I also intend to carry two "half masts" strapped to the boat in case of mast breakage at sea, but that's a year or so down the track. Cheerio, -Will