sliding gooseneck

[hero4theday]

I have a question about a sliding gooseneck. Shouldn't there be some sort of stop to keep it from sliding down the mast? I've only delt with fixed goosenecks and something just doesn't seem right with this setup. Am I missing parts or do I just need to forget about the fixed style and embrace the slide.

Thanks in advance.
Hero4theday

 

[justsomeguy]

You could use one of these: http://shop.macgregorowners.com/prod.php?14731/Sail+Track+Stops but they're out of round stops at the moment, it seems.

 

[oreana123]

the bottom of your sliding gooseneck should have a ring on it. this attachment point is pulled down to adjust tension on the luff of the mainsail. this tension opposes the main halyard.

I installed a sliding gooseneck on my 26d to raise the boom and allow clearance of the heads of crew in the cockpit. I removed 18 inches from the head of my mainsail, installed a batten to hold up the flathead. when bending on the main, i run the main all the way up the mast and tie off the halyard. i then tighten the line from the ring on the bottom of the sliding gooseneck to meet the conditions of the day.

 

[hero4theday]

Thanks oreana123. I understand what you're saying about a loop and how to use it. I attached a pic of mine. It doesn't look like its missing parts but what do I know. Let me know if you see something missing. Thanks again.

 

[doehunter]

the bottom of your sliding gooseneck should have a ring on it. this attachment point is pulled down to adjust tension on the luff of the mainsail. this tension opposes the main halyard.

I installed a sliding gooseneck on my 26d to raise the boom and allow clearance of the heads of crew in the cockpit. I removed 18 inches from the head of my mainsail, installed a batten to hold up the flathead. when bending on the main, i run the main all the way up the mast and tie off the halyard. i then tighten the line from the ring on the bottom of the sliding gooseneck to meet the conditions of the day.

That sounds like it would be a good mod for me too. Does squaring off the top of the sail like that change much in shape or performance?
It seems like it would cause the top to twist more. I have been wanting more clearance over the cabin and bimini too. Heck it would even make room for my solar panel on the cabin top.

 

[oreana123]

If you look at any modern raceboat, you will see squared off mainsail heads with a diagonal batten to hold up the sag. Compare it to an aircraft wing, there is no aircraft with a pointy wing. The limit is your backstay: how much interference are you willing to deal with? I have a chickenhead that offsets the backstay about 12 inches. Moving my boom up 18 inches has completely opened up the cockpit seating. Measured in square inches, I did not lose that much sail area, and the very top of the mainsail is the most affected by varying wind angles- it's all good.

 

[oreana123]

Hero- I have a ring welded to the bottom of my sliding gooseneck that allows a line to be fastened to adjust luff tension. Actually, a sliding gooseneck is BETTER than a cunningham, which I used previously. I use the same cleat to hold the luff tension on the slider, that I used on the cunningham, threading it up to the ring and down gives a 2 to 1 purchase.