Replacing or repairing gooseneck

[sully75]

I'm doing a big refit and trying to fix a couple things.

Long story short: old gooseneck has some cracks in the welds (not entirely visible in this picture but on the vertical joint between the piece attached to the mast and the u shaped piece that the reefing hook slides into).

It's been this way for several years and doesn't seem to be worse than before. It still gives me pause though.

I'm looking for a replacement fitting but not even sure who made this or if it's a standard fitting. The boom fitting is very solid.

I could have it rewelded (I don't see any cracks in the metal itself), find a replacement fitting if I could find one, or replace it with a different fitting. Or leave it as is.

Any suggestions? Picture is linked to below.

https://goo.gl/photos/RjF5ACrYXuv7NfAw8

[UNCIVILIZED]

Yeah, I'd say that it's Definitely due for Replacement. With a part of a far better design. My preference leans towards custom setups, that include a number of extra, usually non-standard features.
Like Wichard snap hooks instead of horns, etc. Albeit with all of the tricks that one can do with Dyneema anymore, it's a lot easier to DIY customize ones rigging, including their reefing setups.

But you could trace out a template of the spar section, & compare it to those found in the major spar maker's catalogs, also. And then, when you find one which fits your mast section/profile. Then decide what features that you want it to have.

One of the first probably being a full height (plus some) attachment fitting to connect it to the spar. More than likely, it being of the type which you both bolt (with numerous machine screws), & epoxy it to the mast tube.

Ah, & BTW, do those stainless steel bolts have compression tubes? I'd surely hope so, as that's a pretty highly loaded area of the spar... even with them.
Such is an unusual setup.

You can go to www.SetSail.com & download the Dashew's books for free. Including their Cruising Encyclopedia Vol. II As it has loads of info on rigging & spars, including gooseneck design.

[sully75]

Thanks, that's all excellent advice.


I hate to say but those aren't through bolts, they are threaded.


I know what I want but I can't even find anything similar in any catalog, basically this:





This was made by Metalmast some years ago. I'm not sure if they are still in business. Any other suppliers for something like this? It appears like it would not be hard to fabricate by a good welder but I'd like to get the bent plate to supply to the welder.

[sully75]

I'm in Baltimore, if anyone knows a killer welder who isn't horribly expensive I'd take your recommendation.

[reed1v]

IF its bronze, weld; if stainless, replace.

[UNCIVILIZED]

From the image you posted, you should have little trouble finding such an item, or, having one made. As that kind of design is very common.
And, that said. Your gooseneck, especially the part which connects/fits onto the mast, needn't be made of stainless, by any means. And, in fact, a very large percentage of them are made of aluminum.

Which is a lot easier to work, work with, & to bend to shape. As it can be formed & shaped, etc., pretty much using only woodworking tools.
Also, since it's lower in strength than is stainless, the fitting will be bigger, in terms of connective area. And that's a good thing, as it helps to spread the loads out over a larger area of the mast. Which is aluminum as well. Ergo, you'll have less issues with point loading, & with dissimilar metal corrosion, etc.

Really, if you wanted to, the whole thing could be made entirely of aluminum. Though in reality, it's common for; the hinge pin, any hooks or high load fittings, plus the attachment screws that connect it to the mast tube, to be made of stainless. While isolating the 2 metals from one another as much as possible.

If you do a simple Google or Bing image search for "sailboat goosenecks", & or "sailboat vangs" (where the vangs attach to the mast), you'll turn up all kinds of examples of what I'm saying.
And also, there are some images of such, plus lots off advice on the topic, in the Dashew's Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia Vol.II Which you can download for free, at www.setsail.com

Also, if you spend a bit of time talking to riggers, odds are they'll have a few used goosenecks, in need of a home laying around. Ditto on boatyards, etc.
Though you may have to pull them off of the masts yourself, & perhaps buy the booms as well (for cheap). And the boom may actually be an upgrade, having more useful features than your current one.
Or, it may be a fairly simple matter to remove (or cut) the gooseneck off of it, & attach it to your current boom (possibly requiring the services of a welder).

One other option, to aide in getting a custom one made. Is to get some door skins, or 1/4" plywood, & a hot glue gun, plus some 5-minute epoxy. And use it to make a mock up of what you're after.
- Make the first set of patterns (for the wood) out of cardboard.
And for the metal bits, just use some aluminum rod, & bits of coat hanger wire. Along with some fishing line, or 1/8" line, to seize the bits together, in position. Again, using epoxy, or epoxy putty, if you want to get fancy, or a bit more structural, in terms of connecting them.

But any fabricator will be more than satisfied if you use coathanger for the mockup's hinge pins, & other custom metal bits. If the rest of your DIY, wooden gooseneck is reasonably well put together.

Plus, take pictures & sketches with you, along with some dimensional drawings to the fabricator/rigger. Preferably ones of the mechanical/technical type.
As they should cover most of what's needed, in terms of; specifications, angles, & material thicknesses, needed in order to make your (ideal) custom gooseneck.
Though the "finished" gooseneck may require a bit of bending; possibly involving a hammer & or vise, in order to get it to fit perfectly. But that's quite common, & no big deal.
BTW, this also applies if you happen to snag a used unit, from another vessel. Via a rig shop, used gear chandlery, etc.

Once you have your new 9or pre-loved) gooseneck. All you'll need to do, is to drill the holes for the attachment screws, & bond/bolt the unit into place.
Ah, & there's plenty of info on bonding Aluminum (& other metals) on the WEST System site, & in the downloadable books & publications there.

Though, strictly speaking, bonding your gooseneck to the mast, isn't truly a requirement, if it's well fastened, with numerous, tapped, machine screws. Though, them I'd bond (& simultaneously isolate) with Blue Loctite.


Good Luck!

[reed1v]

Good points, but also depends on how hard he is going to use the boat. Goosenecks take a lot of abuse. Cast aluminium is ok for most boats, but would suggest another metal for serious off shore work. Bonding to the mast(assuming aluminum) of the fitting is best to distribute the loading. Have seen pop rivets break due to the shear loads inflicted on the fittings from wild jibs in high winds.

[Dsanduril]

You might take a look at Rig-Rite, see if you can identify your spar section, and then give them a call on the mast bracket. The rest of the fittings they should have.

Spars Main Page

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Good points, but also depends on how hard he is going to use the boat. Goosenecks take a lot of abuse. Cast aluminium is ok for most boats, but would suggest another metal for serious off shore work. Bonding to the mast(assuming aluminum) of the fitting is best to distribute the loading. Have seen pop rivets break due to the shear loads inflicted on the fittings from wild jibs in high winds.

Aluminum is More than strong enough for the application, if properly engineered & fabricated. And, no, I wasn't speaking of the cast Aluminum, which is crap.
The reason which I stated Aluminum, is that it's a lot easier to work, than is stainless. Both forming it, & machining it. Thus, it's often less expensive to have custom work done with it. At least for mid-sized to larger projects.
That, & it's common for riggers to be both have; aluminum extrusions already in their shop, as well as their being far easier to order to size for an exact fit.

Fabrication & construction, along the lines which I described, has been (& still is) used on many thousands of boats which have raced & cruised around the world. In addition to it being spar maker's primary mainstay.
I mean, hey, it worked on plenty of the Maxi's & 12m's that I sailed on... Still does, unless they've upgraded to Carbon Fiber.

You just want to keep the welding to a minimum, & only weld it in the appropriate locales, with sufficient reinforcements (& safety factors). Bending (breaking) the metal wherever possible, in preference over welding (which weakens aluminum).
And as I said, bolt & bond things together, not pop rivet.
Meaning, to properly tap, & thread everything for machine screws. As is standard practice in most similar metal fab... Followed by a good cleaning of the metal, & then the standard pre-bonding prep.

Also, there are plenty of extrusions which come close enough, in terms of shape, so that very little in terms of bending them to fit is required.
With a little bit of study of such rigging components, such will quickly become readily apparent.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by sully75

Thanks, that's all excellent advice.


I hate to say but those aren't through bolts, they are threaded.


I know what I want but I can't even find anything similar in any catalog, basically this:





This was made by Metalmast some years ago. I'm not sure if they are still in business. Any other suppliers for something like this? It appears like it would not be hard to fabricate by a good welder but I'd like to get the bent plate to supply to the welder.

If you have a good machine shop in the area, you might carry it to them and get their opinion. A good machinist or model maker can be worth their weight in gold.

[KeithMidgette]

Having been trying to research my early MetalMast mast and boom (according to the metal stamp its Serial number 30 or 50) design for my 1966 Bristol 39 yawl, I have a similar boom and gooseneck as in the photo although not exactly the same. I also could not find an exact match and contacted Rig-Rite and they said my mast, boom and fittings preceded the information in their data base so couldn't give me a design or stock number.

[zeehag]

in zihuatenejo, i removed, had braised and replaced my bronze gooseneck without difficulty., the work is holding nicely and i still have my original 40 yr old gooseneck made for my particular boat. why not do same --remove, re weld and replace this piece...
why reinvent the wheel.
how old is your boat?

[KeithMidgette]

I agree with Dsanduril and also recommend checking Rig-Rite website, they do have similar, but not exactly the same MetalMast goosenecks on their website.

[sully75]

For the record I had one made up custom in Annapolis. It was not cheap $400 but they did a really nice job.

M Yacht Services. I would recommend them if you are in the area.