Replacing the Gas Spring in a Selden Rodkicker Rigid Vang

After eleven years and 25,000 nautical miles of hard use, our Selden Rodkicker Rigid Vang experienced its first failure on our 1,200nm passage from Fiji to New Zealand, requiring replacement. Five days into the nine-day passage, we noticed an unusual clanking noise from the mast/boom area and after a quick on deck inspection, realized what had occurred. The gas spring inside the vang had failed, allowing the vang to sag with its only support coming via our topping lift. This wasn’t a serious issue, but we wanted to get it fixed as soon as we arrived in New Zealand. Upon arriving at Gulf Harbour Marina, we were easily able to locate a replacement in Auckland at Sailution. Following a call with their knowledgeable staff, we were told that this was a simple do-it-yourself repair and armed with that knowledge, we decided to dive right in and take it apart.
As you will see, the most difficult part of the process was simply removing the cotter pin, due to its location under the boom. After that, it is a quick and easy process. Our spring had completely failed and after attempting to remove the plastic ends, we ran into an issue where one had become locked onto the old spring. As they are not that expensive we ordered two new ones along with the replacement gas spring, providing the parts numbers from the existing components. Sailution was able to provide next day delivery so even though we were both battling a cold, we dove right in and quickly had it reassembled.
The two main tips we offer are as follows.
1. To reattach the vang to the boom, you will need to tension the vang. Sounds obvious but we wasted a few minutes instead trying to lift the boom with the topping lift. Duh!
2. Even though we made fun of it during the video, be cautious of pinching yourself when reassembling the vang. Those edges can be viscous, and the helper may slide them right over your fingers. Beware the dreaded Pinchy Pinchy!
We hope this helps you dive in for a quite simple repair. And a huge thanks to Sailution for your brilliant service.
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Informational:
Sailution Ltd: https://www.sailutions.co.nz/
Selden: https://support.seldenmast.com/en/products/rigid_vangs_-_rodkickers/rodkicker_rigid_vang.html

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Cheers,
Kevin & Carla