Scott,

I'm a little confused.  Why is the vang setup so as to raise the boom so high?  I have a couple of questions to ask.

• Do you have a dodger and is it tall?
• Is you main in the mast or a traditional hoisted main?  The reason is: if your main is in the mast, you'll only need to clear the dodge.  If you have a traditional main, you should have clearance between the main cover and the dodger to avoid chaffing the fabric of dodger.
• The boom needs to lift a little, maybe 10 degrees or so, to make the leech easier to reef and clear the dodger.

Maybe you attached the boom portion of the vang too close to the mast.  I've attached a photo showing my vang to give you an idea of how far out it is.

Hope this helps.

Scott,  

After I viewed the picture again, it occurred to me you may not have set up the vain correctly.  Do the following.

• With no sail on the boom, raise it to horizontal usinf either the topping lift or the main halyard.  
• Using the trim line on the unattached vang, tighten it until the outer tube is 85%~ retracted.  
• Then raise it to the boom with boom fitting attached to vang and see where it meets the boom.  If satisfactory, tape the fitting to the boom, to hold it in place while you attached the screws.  

With that done, the vang will always under tension. Let me know if you need further help.

Regards,