• From: Ottawa, On
  • Registered: 2005-03-10
  • Posts: 353

Topic: gooseneck

so im getting ready for hopefully a wednesday launch and im starting to look at my mast - for the first time since i took it off the boat 4 years ago.  just wondering how the gooseneck is held in the mast.  .looks like it rides in the sail track and is held captive by a few cotter pins thru the sail track?  looks like the only thing to me, just wondering if anyone else out there has an older style setup.  cheers all

stef

stefan_d's Website

  • Registered: 2006-09-20
  • Posts: 175

Re: gooseneck

How old style do you want? My boom was converted from the original external roller reefing to slab reefing by the previous owner and the mast and boom are well over 40 years old.

There is a substantial track on the aft face of the mast (the luff groove starts a couple of feet above the gooseneck) and the gooseneck slides in this.   There are top and bottom stops on the approx 18" track but I've added a screw stop just below the gooseneck to keep the boom up when the sail is down so it doesn't hang off the luff slides.  I also added a downhaul to the gooseneck to make the luff tension easily adjustable.

  • From: Vancouver, B.C. Canada
  • Registered: 2005-05-06
  • Posts: 304

Re: gooseneck

Mine on my 1984 was a cotter pin with good, strong goose neck, that yes, fit into the sail track.  But, I did major cotter pin that locked, not the one you bend.

I may still have pics somewhere of my old one....somewhere......

“You get a boat for only one reason, because you want one.  If you’re worried about being practical, forget boats.”
  • From: Parry Sound, Ontario
  • Registered: 2008-07-06
  • Posts: 27

Re: gooseneck

I bought a 1974 Contessa last month that will go in the water next year.  It also has a sliding gooseneck like yours.

Currently, I sail a 1970 24' Bluenose with the same sort of configuration.  I bought 2 sail slide track stoppers - they have a slide on them and screw down to tighten in the slide track.  After the main has been bent on, I put one above the entry gate to prevent the sail slides from falling out when the sail is lowered, and one  below the gate and under the boom to prevent the boom from crashing to the deck when the main down.  They work very well.  It was a simple and inexpensive solution.  The bottom stop should be low enough to allow you to control the tension the luff of the main with a downhaul.  In other words, the sliding gooseneck allows the boom to lift when you raise the main, but you can then tension the luff according to wind conditions by hauling the boom back down with the downhaul.  The downhaul on my Bluenose is a 1/8" line tied to the bail for my boom vang at the base of the mast, runs up and through a small block attached to the underside of the boom at the gooseneck, and back down to a cleat on the mast just above deck level.  It's a very effective sail control. 

Cheers.

Carolyn