Gooseneck Tearout

[WontCrawl]

Hello folks. Good to be here.

I noticed the groove widening on my mast too late after the sale. Should of checked the gooseneck closer. I appears the boom was torn from the mast groove in the past and someone tried to use a through screw to clamp the groove.

Not yet spread out the rigging so not knowing just what is effected by this, I'm pretty sure the boom separated in some way and hope it's centralized at the gooseneck.

The pics show the damage. I'm hoping there's a boom/mast gooseneck kit available for slotted rigging, and I'm capable to find a special clamping tool that can reset the groove while still retaining the temper of the groove.

I am grateful for any help you can provide.

[Cheechako]

I assume you can attach the gooseneck in one position... ie: it doesnt need to slide up and down..? There are various fitting avail to screw to the mast and eliminate having the gooseneck in the slot entirely. You could make a new plate for the gooseneck to attach to and screw it to the mast, or rivet with good rivets. Most goosenecks on larger boats are firmly attached.
It appears your mast is round...? if so you may be in luck, get a piece of alum pipe with the inside diameter about the same as your mast OD. Cut it in half or maybe 1/3, have the goose neck plate welded to that and firmly attach that piece of pipe to the mast. Done well it's better than what you have now.

[WontCrawl]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I assume you can attach the gooseneck in one position... ie: it doesnt need to slide up and down..? There are various fitting avail to screw to the mast and eliminate having the gooseneck in the slot entirely. You could make a new plate for the gooseneck to attach to and screw it to the mast, or rivet with good rivets. Most goosenecks on larger boats are firmly attached.
It appears your mast is round...? if so you may be in luck, get a piece of alum pipe with the inside diameter about the same as your mast OD. Cut it in half or maybe 1/3, have the goose neck plate welded to that and firmly attach that piece of pipe to the mast. Done well it's better than what you have now.

Thanks. Is there an effective way or reforming the groove?

[Cheechako]

I think that is going to be tough. You could try using a big C clamp with a wood cushion on the non groove side. Or a hammer and a wood block against the mast. But I think you need to be careful not to put a bunch of dimples in it. I would likely try the hammer approach, tapping and moving, tapping and moving.. etc... trying to gradually get it back into shape. Metal acts like a spring until the point where it yields and permanently bends. (modulus of elasticity) so it's a fine line applying enough pressure vs too much. Do you happen to have an "old school" car body shop around? Those guys are pretty good at bending metal, have some special tools, maybe they would give it a shot for you?
Oh crap, never mind.. I was thinking the opened groove was in the boom... you wont be taking the mast to a body shop!

[hpeer]

I think the bigger issue with reforming the groove would be metal fatigue. Once bent the aluminum will loose strength.

I believe you can find a relatively, but moderately ugly fix by attaching a doubler over the track and somehow attaching to that.

A lot like your first response.

Good luck.

[WontCrawl]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I think the bigger issue with reforming the groove would be metal fatigue. Once bent the aluminum will loose strength.

I believe you can find a relatively, but moderately ugly fix by attaching a doubler over the track and somehow attaching to that.

A lot like your first response.

Good luck.

On closer inspection of the mast, the upper most widened part(outlined in green circle in the pic) is actually the mast luff entry point. The widened groove segment below this seems to explain the gooseneck distortion on the end of the boom. The boom groove is perfect. So i think that the actual sail integrity in the track is not a problem and that is a relief(especially for cruising).

The screw going through the groove I haven't figured out yet unless the previous owner had this through the Cunningham hole( and please don't let it be through the sail itself.), since the groove doesn't need closure here. It appears that because the widened lower groove was stretched, and the necessity of the screw-through-groove, he had trouble with his gooseneck which would have normally provided downhaul.

It means I'll need to do a smooth out of the screw hole within the groove somehow and maybe fill that with epoxy(don't know anything about brazing aluminum) otherwise there is danger of cutting the cord.

I'm optimistic now, since I know the problem is narrowed to the gooseneck and the lower groove. The best thing to do i guess is to lay it all out on the lawn with the mainsail and just see what is affected. The lower groove i could use less sensitive repair since it holds the cars of the gooseneck, and also because gooseneck kits are available, complete with gooseneck track sliders. I can always use a manual downhaul/reefing system and a fixed gooseneck too which would be a bummer.

[ozskipper]

You could try a pair of hose clamps and some "gentle" tapping

[Jim Cate]

Re the screw through the groove:

Perhaps the PO had at some time used a mainsail with slugs rather than a bolt rope, and the screw was to keep the slugs from falling out when the sail was lowered. Many years ago I used such a system on a Catalina 22 mast.

And also, I think that your plan of assemblng the bits onyour lawn is good. Will likely answer a lot of questions!

Cheers,

Jim