NOT boom slides...

[sailormark45]

Ok guys Here is pic of gooseneck and mast track.. HOW do I replace sail slugs???? Gooseneck is riveted onto mast any Ideas??
Thanx
Mark

[D.D.]

How did you get the sail on?

[hellosailor]

Looks like someone cheaped out and riveted a gooseneck onto the mast. The wrong gooseneck, blocking the slot.

If there's no place on the track where the slides can come out--you'll have to cut or grind the rivet heads off, remove at least the top of the gooseneck, and access the slot opening. Or, cut a slot opening above it, and then afterwards screw down a plate over it to block it off again.

I'm thinking that goosenecks don't last forever and the captive pin in there may be worn to the point where that needs to be replaced as well, so maybe it is time to remove the gooseneck for a more thorough inspection anyway. It doesn't look like it is sitting straight on the pin, and if that pin fails--the boom is free.

[Connemara]

Yep, looks as if the sail slot is blocked by the gooseneck fitting. As Hellosailor said, probably a cheap and dirty dolution to some long-ago problem.

Could only really happen in a warm place. Those of us who have to take our masts down every year would find it awkward to say the least.

Connemara

and speaking of which.... 45 days to launch!

[perchance]

If you want cheap and dirty cut a slot out of the mast groove the same size as your sail slugs. You can make up a removable plate to trap the slugs once you bend on the main. My mast was made this way but uses a threaded pin to trap the slides and it works fine. If I double reef I remove the pin to let the slides out of the slot, otherwise I wind up with a big pile of sail above the goose neck.

[senormechanico]

I wouldn't trust that gooseneck any farther than I could throw it. It looks seriously close to being toast, nevermind the problem of removing the sail !

Cut it loose and start over.

Steve B.

[svHyLyte]

Markey--

Ar you sure there is not a small gateway plate with a small screw holding it in place about a foot or 18 inches above the black band? That was pretty common on masts with a section that looked like that (you can find the sections on Rig Rite's web site). If not, and the upper portion of the gooseneck was, in fact, added ex post facto, it may be a simple matter of undoing a few screws in the face of that to access the gate. From the look of it, the top piece appears to have been added to carry the tack of the sail which would, otherwise, be too high to aligh with the slot in the boom section.

FWIW...

s/v HyLyte

[hellosailor]

Above the black band? As in, near the masthead?!

Isn't that a bit inconvenient for access from the deck?

[Celestialsailor]

I'm with perchance on this...Take a dremel tool with a burr and grind out a pot as close to the bottom as possible. But the gooseneck riveted to the mast??? That's a little hokey. Hunter strikes again!!!

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I wouldn't trust that gooseneck any farther than I could throw it. It looks seriously close to being toast, nevermind the problem of removing the sail !

Cut it loose and start over.

Steve B.

DOTTO!!!!

It looks like it's about to fail at the pivot pin. Plus, I've never seen a two piece gooseneck bracket (upper/lower). How would one get it apart for maintenance w/o drilling out the rivets?

BTW Is the sail held onto the slugs with clevis? Cheap out? Yes!

[s/v Jedi]

It hurts to say it but this just won't do. Start saving $$$ and plan to contact a rigger.

cheers,
Nick.

[Wotname]

I with everyone who says "deep six it and start afresh". I won't go to sea the way it looks in th photo.

[Amgine]

Hold on! That looks like a Kenyon gooseneck.

Look up along the track, about 18-20" above the gooseneck. see something that looks like this?



Might not be so fancy with the cotter pins.

This was placed so it would be above the stacked sail slides, reducing the risk of them trying to wriggle out the slot. It's generally called a 'gate'.

[MidLandOne]

Forget the criticisms of the use of rivets fixing the gooseneck to the mast. Even the best riggers rivet them on and certainly in the parts of the world I have been in riveting has been the usual method for many years. As someone will surely tell me that I am wrong I have just gone for a walk around our own marina to make doubly sure and all the boats I could see the gooseneck on (ie not hidden by the sail cover) and newer than 20 years or so were riveted.

As Amgine has said there should be a gate in the track up the mast a little (often placed so that all the slides up to the second reef will fit below it). It may look like Amgine's photo or it may be a plate arrangement. If there isn't one get a rigger to fit one.

[sailormark45]

Must have suffered a severe case of... craniul-rectum-ietus.. Head up my a$$.. I did find the access slot RIGHT where ya'll told me where it was.... Took me 3 days to locate slot and 10 minutes to replace the slide.. Oh well At least i got a little interest stirred up concerning boom and mast gooseneck fittings huh?? HAHAHA.. Thanx a million you guys ya;ll are so smart salty dogs for sure.. I will replace gooseneck before long for sure.. Thanx again till next time.'
Mark