The other day I was practicing stepping the mast and raising the sails, getting ready for my first launch. The mainsail got stuck in the mast and I couldn't get it down. I took the gooseneck off the boom to relieve pressure and I was able to get the sail off. I put the gooseneck in my trusty jar, thinking I would put it back on later. That was a BIG mistake! I actually forgot all about it until I went to the marina, stepped the mast, reinstalled the gooseneck, no problem--or so I thought. I realized that the gooseneck was not working properly. I must have lost a piece of it. I'm attaching pictures of what I have. Maybe someone can tell me what went wrong.
Gooseneck
- Thread starter drgbanks
- Start date
Gooseneck is pretty simple. The body slides into the mast channel where the sail slides. There should be a stopper in the channel below the gooseneck to keep it from dropping too low, The boom attaches to the gooseneck like a hinge, using the pin to connect the two. The sail tack will attach to the ring on top of the gooseneck, most commonly with a shackle. You can use an inexpensive "stamped" shackle, you don't need the pricey forged type.
If you don't have a cunningham rigged, then you can set the gooseneck to slide up and down to adjust mainsail luff tension. The real term for this is a "boom downhaul" These days, most sailors find the cunningham more effective as a mainsail luff tension tool. Very easy to set up, btw, and with the cunningham you can lock the gooseneck in one position and forget it.
If you do not understand the terms and devices I'm describing, now's the time to do a little research. These things are not boat specific, they are common to all sailboats. So google things like "cunningham" "boom downhaul" "sail stop" and so on. From what I can see you have everything you need. Perhaps the clevis pin isn't long enough for "hinging" the boom to GN. In that case, get a longer clevis pin.
These are all basic parts, especially the clevis pins. You can find them at any marine store (also called a chandlery) Doesn't have to be a sailing store either. In fact, you can find a lot of these things, like clevis pins, at your local hardware or auto parts store.
Okay, you need to consider this as a great learning opportunity. All of us............. YES .......... all of us.... have gone through this type of thing. The only way you learn is to do stuff and make mistakes.... trust me... and that's why we are here.. to help folks who will eventually find themselves in a position to help others. It's very gratifying. Part of sailing is the learning to fix everything part. You just can't take your boat to the local mechanic everytime you have a problem. Besides the time and the unbelievable cost.......... there just aren't that many house call mechanics and driving down to the local garage is not a reality... Unless you have very deep pockets of course.
Good luck. Check back in if you get stuck.
If you don't have a cunningham rigged, then you can set the gooseneck to slide up and down to adjust mainsail luff tension. The real term for this is a "boom downhaul" These days, most sailors find the cunningham more effective as a mainsail luff tension tool. Very easy to set up, btw, and with the cunningham you can lock the gooseneck in one position and forget it.
If you do not understand the terms and devices I'm describing, now's the time to do a little research. These things are not boat specific, they are common to all sailboats. So google things like "cunningham" "boom downhaul" "sail stop" and so on. From what I can see you have everything you need. Perhaps the clevis pin isn't long enough for "hinging" the boom to GN. In that case, get a longer clevis pin.
These are all basic parts, especially the clevis pins. You can find them at any marine store (also called a chandlery) Doesn't have to be a sailing store either. In fact, you can find a lot of these things, like clevis pins, at your local hardware or auto parts store.
Okay, you need to consider this as a great learning opportunity. All of us............. YES .......... all of us.... have gone through this type of thing. The only way you learn is to do stuff and make mistakes.... trust me... and that's why we are here.. to help folks who will eventually find themselves in a position to help others. It's very gratifying. Part of sailing is the learning to fix everything part. You just can't take your boat to the local mechanic everytime you have a problem. Besides the time and the unbelievable cost.......... there just aren't that many house call mechanics and driving down to the local garage is not a reality... Unless you have very deep pockets of course.
Good luck. Check back in if you get stuck.
Not missing anything that I can see (other then there should be 2 clevis pins there)! HOWEVER, the gooseneck on your boat is designed to allow "roller-Reefing" and that is accomplished by pulling the boom away from the mast (with gooseneck slider in mast slot) which will disengage the spring-loaded pin in the end-casting, allowing boom to rotate. Apparently, in your efforts to disassemble the gooseneck, you pulled that pin out and turned the gooseneck 90deg. Simply pull the pin out again, and rotate it 90deg and reassemble the gooseneck.
SIMPLE ERROR! You are not the first (and will be far from the last!) to have this happen.
For reference, here is a properly assembled gooseneck. Maybe I should add this picture to my Manuals........ <GRIN!>
SIMPLE ERROR! You are not the first (and will be far from the last!) to have this happen.
For reference, here is a properly assembled gooseneck.
Maybe I should add this picture to my Manuals........ <GRIN!>Attachments
Last edited:
Simple fix...all set now. Thank you Sunbird!Not missing anything that I can see (other then there should be 2 clevis pins there)! HOWEVER, the gooseneck on your boat is designed to allow "roller-Reefing" and that is accomplished by pulling the boom away from the mast (with gooseneck slider in mast slot) which will disengage the spring-loaded pin in the end-casting, allowing boom to rotate. Apparently, in your efforts to disassemble the gooseneck, you pulled that pin out and turned the gooseneck 90deg. Simply pull the pin out again, and rotate it 90deg and reassemble the gooseneck.
SIMPLE ERROR! You are not the first (and will be far from the last!) to have this happen.
For reference, here is a properly assembled gooseneck.
Timely Subject. I just launched my Javelin yesterday and the one part I didn't realize was missing is the Tack Pin for the Gooseneck. Now that the boat is out on the mooring 100 miles away, does anybody have the diameter and length of the pin? I used a cotter pin (probably from the lawn tractor) to get by yesterday for the maiden voyage, but I fear it could tear the sail.
Last edited:
I definitely did something like that once trying to figure out how the roller reefing works. I got some good advice that I’ve taken to heart - if it’s blowing hard enough that you are thinking about reefing the main on a javelin, don’t go out. Those are the days I go out on the sunfish and sometimes take an unexpected bath.