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Boom almost came off

vasuvius

Member II
Yesterday I was out sailing and we had an accidental gybe in light air. It didn't look like the boom swung over too hard, but clearly it did.
The shackle holding the pin on the gooseneck to the tack on the mainsail sheared off.

Luckily I got to the mast, quickly pushed the pin up and we dropped the mainsail. I had a spare shackle pin and was able to rig a temporary fix.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jGMUKboKpEDu5MVh6. (shows the setup before the damage)

I don't understand why the pin is setup to go up from the bottom instead of top down so even. It also seems risky to have a single shackle holding the mainsail directly onto the pin in the gooseneck. At the least I would use one shackle on the gooseneck pin and another to connect from that shackle to the tack on the mainsail.

Can anyone share best practices or securing the boom to the gooseneck ? I'll take some closeup pics of the current setup tomorrow and post.

Thanks.
 

acubria

Member II
hi Vasu, check out this image of my gooseneck. The pin holding the pin is secured by a ring ( similar to my keychain rings!) on the upper end of the pin, which I also wonder, why not having the pin come from the top down and use gravity as a safety measure ..... there must be a reason. I hope this helps.
 

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vasuvius

Member II
Thanks Arturo. My gooseneck / boom connection is quite different from yours. Even the mast end of my boom is very different. Single shackle from the headsail tack to the pin on the gooseneck. I never thought about it but now I'm not convinced this is a good setup.

1632830182256.png
I'll take some more pics when I go to the boat today and take some measurements.
 

Bolo

Contributing Partner
Not too long ago I noticed that the pin used to connect the boom to the mast had come out of the bottom of the goose neck and was only holding on at the top of the connection. This was because the pin on my 32-3 goes in from the top. Read about it here: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/boom-to-mast-connection-repair.18615/

If the pin had gone up from the bottom the boom would had separated so I can’t see how you pin coming in from the top can be right. I ended up replacing my pin and adding extra washers.
 

vasuvius

Member II
Not too long ago I noticed that the pin used to connect the boom to the mast had come out of the bottom of the goose neck and was only holding on at the top of the connection. This was because the pin on my 32-3 goes in from the top. Read about it here: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/boom-to-mast-connection-repair.18615/

If the pin had gone up from the bottom the boom would had separated so I can’t see how you pin coming in from the top can be right. I ended up replacing my pin and adding extra washers.

My gooseneck looks very different. The pin that goes through the gooseneck and the boom goes in from the bottom. at the top end, there's a transverse pin hole. A shackle with 1/8" pin diameter connects the headsail tack to the gooseneck pin.
The reason the boom didn't fall off quickly was that the weight of the boom slanted it down and put pressure on the gooseneck pin and prevented it from dropping all the way. It had dropped down about 1/2" -- If I hadn't caught it, it would have dropped fully. :-(
 

nquigley

Sustaining Member
hi Vasu, check out this image of my gooseneck. The pin holding the pin is secured by a ring ( similar to my keychain rings!) on the upper end of the pin, which I also wonder, why not having the pin come from the top down and use gravity as a safety measure ..... there must be a reason. I hope this helps.
My gooseneck clevis pin is oriented down, with a sturdy ss ring at the bottom. My current pin is about 1/2" too long, which lets the pin ride up. I put a bunch of big washers above the ring to stop that last weekend, but I also have a shorter clevis pin on order from MacMaster Carr.
 

nquigley

Sustaining Member
Not too long ago I noticed that the pin used to connect the boom to the mast had come out of the bottom of the goose neck and was only holding on at the top of the connection. This was because the pin on my 32-3 goes in from the top. Read about it here: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/boom-to-mast-connection-repair.18615/

If the pin had gone up from the bottom the boom would had separated so I can’t see how you pin coming in from the top can be right. I ended up replacing my pin and adding extra washers.
Yup - I just posted my other reply before reading your post - I've had the same 'riding up' phenomenon.
 

Mike Siegel

Member II
that gooseneck is exactly like alot of catalinas and odays run , i bought one from catalina direct for my oday . i forget the spar maker at the moment , maybe seldon?
 

vasuvius

Member II
So, it looks like I'm the only one with a gooseneck pin oriented upwards and a single locking point for the gooseneck and the mainsail tack.
I'm going to Defender this weekend - Maybe they have replacement pins that can be oriented down and a separate connection for the mainsail tack.
 

Brad Johnson

Member III
My gooseneck looks very different. The pin that goes through the gooseneck and the boom goes in from the bottom. at the top end, there's a transverse pin hole. A shackle with 1/8" pin diameter connects the headsail tack to the gooseneck pin.
The reason the boom didn't fall off quickly was that the weight of the boom slanted it down and put pressure on the gooseneck pin and prevented it from dropping all the way. It had dropped down about 1/2" -- If I hadn't caught it, it would have dropped fully. :-(
Your set up is the same as mine , I have never had a problem like you experienced, I would buy a quality shackle and you should be fine. a picture of the broken shackle would be of interest . Wichard is a good brand, expensive !!!! but very unlikely to fail
 

vasuvius

Member II
Here's a better pic. I went to the boat to check a few things today. I replayed everything that happened in my head.
I think nothing broke. The shackle pin on the long D shackle must had loosened (over time) and come off. I never found it. I found a replacement pin and installed it. And correction to earlier post - the shackle is a Wichard 6mm (~ 1/4") long D shackle.
Sorry for the confusion I caused in my earlier post.



IMG_0386.jpg
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
I would use a small zip tie through the hole in the shackle pin to "mouse" the shackle pin to the shackle body. Prevents threaded pins from turning and coming out (like lock-wiring fasteners, only nautical and older). Needed on any critical threaded pin shackles such as those connecting your anchor to the chain/rode. I would be mousing my mainsail shackle for any trip where I can't afford to sky the halyard (solo, long, offshore, all three). Try to replace zip tie yearly. Keep a bag of those small zip ties onboard.

Mark

moused shsckle pin.jpg
 
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