boom height (Capri 18)

[john6206]

Hi All -
When I raise my sail all the way and the luff is taut, the gooseneck fitting falls in the widened part of the mast slot - where it can easily slip out.

Is it supposed to end up above, or below?

The manual says to insert it and "let it fall" implying that it should end up below - but then it says "do not cleat at this time."

Thanks

 

[Joe]

Sounds like you need a "mast gate" to cover the opening in the mast slot. If Catalina doesn't make one (try calling their parts dept/customer service www.catalinayachts.com) you can find them from third party vendors. Google search "sailboat mast gate Catalina 18"

 

[canoe_cg]

Hi All -
When I raise my sail all the way and the luff is taut, the gooseneck fitting falls in the widened part of the mast slot - where it can easily slip out.

The gooseneck fitting on your boom needs to remain in the track for certain. My Catalina Capri 18 rigging has the boom just below the mast track access area and uses a track stop just before the mast track opening. I do not know about a mast gate feature that Joe mentions in the earlier response, but I guess it could be used after some modification to the mast.

When I raise the mainsail to the highest level, the boom gooseneck slider raises to the track stop. I also use a boom kicker for better boom position control. Here is the best picture that I have to show my current rigging.

Happy sailing...

 

[Joe]

re: canoe_cg comment. Here's the "track stop" he mentions.
.

 

[kbgunn]

A boom tie-down tied to the gooseneck will secure the gooseneck car below the mast gate (the gate is the area where you insert the car and sail slugs into the track). The tie-down will also provide the opposing tension to the halyard pulling the head of the sail to the top of the mast. Without the downward tension of the tie-down, the luff would not be drawn very tight flattening the luff and moving the belly of the sail towards the mast when the wind picks up. The tie-down is the blue line connected to the gooseneck and cleated in the picture below.

 

[john6206]

Thanks everyone,

I do have one track stop. The manual seemed to imply that it goes under the boom, and the down haul provides the downward tension.

I will keep the boom below the mast gate and hoist the sail up taught, it will likeLy be a couple inches below the top of the mast, but I don't know as that will matter.

Hoping to get it wet this weekend!

 

[CaptDon01]

I used two track stops, one would be the lower stop where I would secure the line from the bottom of the goose neck to the cleat on the mast slot. The other stop would be installed in the mast slightly above the slot so the sail wouldn't fall out of the slot. If you hoist the main sail all the way, the leech of the sail tends to catch on the back stay and can wear the sail. So I hoist the sail so it wouldn't hit on the back stay, and then pull the goose neck down, now tighten the stop below the goose neck real tight and just leave it there, no need to mess with it again. Now when rigging, all you have to do is slip the goose neck into the slot, let it drop to the stop, and secure the line below the goose neck to the cleat. Now you can hoist the sail and not have to worry if you're hoisting the sail too high,

Don

You can see the stop below the goose neck and the line secured in the jam cleat

Keeping the boom lower also helps prevent the end of the boom from hitting the backstay. This is why a vang is so important on both the Capri-18 and the Catalina-22. It doesn't take much lifting for the end of the boom to snag on the backstay.

 

[Solarfry]

The boom is on a sliding gooseneck because it uses it as a cunningham. There is a spot on bottom of gooseneck for a line that pulls gooseneck down below track slide openning and stretches/flattens sail. This line ties to a cleat below on mast track. You cinch it to tighten or flatten the sail. Check for a non-standard or reduced area sail with a shorter luff.