[Public-List] more gooseneck discussion

J Bergquist jbergqui at gmail.com
Wed Aug 6 09:04:10 PDT 2008


Folks,

Just to follow on the gooseneck discussion about 'through bolting'
with hex caps to fix the sliding gooseneck in place for the purpose of
using a rigid vang or for other reasons, I wanted to share some recent
experience.

I did this 2 years ago when I converted to a rigid vang. I knew at the
time that it probably was not a sufficient solution strength-wise as
the #10 fasteners attaching the track to the mast are woefully
undersized for the gooseneck load especially if you start using a more
powerful vang. My attitude was we'll see how it goes and we'll fix it
when it breaks. Well it held up for 2 years, but it broke last
weekend.

Therefore, anybody looking to pursue the 'through bolt with a hex cap
and forget it method' should be warned...if you are increasing
gooseneck load by adding a vang, it will break sooner or later.

On racing boats the gooseneck is something that is seen as both a
critical and not uncommon point of failure. Most west coast 5o5
sailors carry spare goosenecks in their regatta kits because it's
windy, they break fairly commonly. Obviously, gooseneck failure on an
Alberg is an unacceptable situation, so you want to have something
solid going on there.

As a temporary measure (so I can continue sailing), I plan to drill
out the existing track fasteners and re-tap the holes for the next
size up (#12 or 1/4", depending on how much meat is left in the
metal). IN addition, I plan to use band clamps as a backup. This is
something that I only need for a few weeks because I am having
Garhauer make me a new custom gooseneck fitting which will attach
using my existing boom gooseneck pin (1/2" x 3" pin) so I won't have
to change any boom hardware. The mast end of the bracket will be
installed with 8 1/4x20" pan head machine screws into holes drilled
and tapped into the mast section. This is the same kind of attachment
that I have for the bottom part of my rigid vang and it seems to be
holding up very well. You can see a picture of that bracket at:

http://bp1.blogger.com/_X9pVAJpXiq0/SB9_DcfPm5I/AAAAAAAAAV0/PqcaTfCwdek/s1600-h/P4300351.JPG

Also, for those who are interested, there is an extensive bit of
reading on gooseneck fittings, the loads involved, and how to solve
this problem, including both temporary and permanent fixes at:

http://www.triton381.com/projects/maintenance/gooseneck.htm

Of course, that is on a Triton not an A30, but Tritons are so similar
that many people have difficulty telling them apart, so the material
is still very relevant. Of course, his ultimate solution was very
Gucci (and expensive)...buy a whole new boom and re-rig everything.
I'm going to stop short of that, but it is interesting to read all his
discussion on the gooseneck topic, and I got the band clamp idea from
him as well.

If anybody is interested in getting a Garhauer gooseneck I am sure
they would be happy to make you one. Once I have mine I will let you
know how much it cost and you can order one. I can also provide you a
drawing of my mast profile.

Kind regards,

J Bergquist



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