Damaged Gooseneck

[LTshaw]

I was doing some hard sailing today in the Aegean and after I went to put a reef in, I noticed the vertical pin was almost completely out of the gooseneck. It's also bent, which may be the only reason it's still holding together.

There's not a decent marina anywhere around me, but I've reached out to the closest inquiring about any help I can get.

What do you all think? It looks terrible and certainly doesn't look like something I can just hammer back in.

[donradcliffe]

I'd drive it out, straighten it with a hammer, and drive it back in. When you get somewhere decent, drill a hole or holes through the pin to keep it from coming out again.

[wholybee]

I would start by removing the boom from the toggle so there is no load on it. Then you will better know what you are dealing with. You could probably wrap the main halyard around the boom to hold it in place so you don't need to remove the sail etc.

Probably hammer it out with a long punch. Then find a suitable replacement. I guess that at one time there were pins or rings on each end to hold it in place? If a replacement can't be found in reasonable time, a bolt and nut should work, preferable a bolt with a long shoulder so the threads don't damage the holes.

[Spot]

If a person was making the new pin from scratch, what sort of 'fit' or clearance should it have? I can't imagine wanting a press fit with dissimilar metals.

[Spot]

LTshaw, were you able to make any progress on the repair?

[Bellinghamster]

The pin looks more cocked (loaded in the lower mounts) than bent. Should be easy to take compression load off the gooseneck and tap it back into place. It likely has a cross-drilled hole in the middle (red arrow) for a cotter pin to keep it in position.

Also note that there should be plastic (UHMW, Acetal, etc.) thrust washers in the gaps above and below the rotating part (red rectangles) to prevent aluminum-on-aluminum wear. (Below for when the sail is down and the boom moves around, above for when the sail is hoisted, lifting the boom)