Hi Steve, I put a vang and a bail on my M-15 last year. It should work for a M-17 as well. I think the bail is a Schaefer. I can not find it now - it was about $25. It is a round forged bail, not a strap. A little over kill, but it runs smooth in use. I think it mounts with a 3 inch long, one quarter inch diameter bolt. It must be about 2 3/4 inches wide. I took the bail to my local hardware store and found a standard length stainless bolt that fitted it perfectly. There was exactly enough thread on the outside to take the nut. I bought some cheap Barton blocks from Sailorman.com. My system looks like the top right one on the Dwyer page. SNAPSHACKLE BLOCK SIZE 3 FIDDLE BARTON - Manufacturer Part#: BFN3 -Selling Price: $27.02 http://www.sailorman.com/shop2.htm?Id=11199&ITEM_NO=31487 SNAPSHACKLE BLOCK SIZE 3 FID W/BECKET & CAM BARTON - Manufacturer Part#: B364 -Selling Price: $38.72 http://www.sailorman.com/shop2.htm?Id=11199&ITEM_NO=31423 Again, overkill for an M-15 but not much more than the dinghy blocks with vee cleats. I riveted an eye strap on the front of the mast, and tied a loop of line around the mast through the eye. Maybe about a foot of line. The line bears against the mast, and does not pull on any fasteners. I snap on the bottom block to the line and snap the top block to the bail. Quicker to do than to type about it. The bail is installed so the vang makes about a 45 degree angle with the mast. I use the block with the cam on the top. My guess is I used 15 feet of line. I let the line sag down on the cabin top and can easily reach it. That's a little more than the Dwyer set up but you get two snap shackles and a cam cleat instead of a single eye fitting and a vee cleat. It is quick to put on and take down and easy to adjust. I need to get a piece of tubing to go abound the bail bolt, to act as a compression sleeve, but just have not taken it to the metal shop yet. Works for me. Steve R. M-15 #119 Lexington, KY --- s.mcclellan@attbi.com wrote:
I'm intending to put a boom vang on my M15 this year -- (Does everyone agree that the Boom Vang Kit "for boats under 22 feet" at Dwyer Mast Company (http://www.dwyermast.com/kits.htm) would be adequate for an M15?)
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