Gooseneck Reef Sheaves--Replace?

[Christian Williams]

I pulled the little reef-line sheaves from the gooseneck. They weren't turning well and no doubt needed replacement. Simple little pulleys--stainless bushing, Delrin sheave.

I couldn't find them at Mcmaster Carr, so then to Rig Rite. Ugh. Then to Goldenstate, who has a good blog intry on Goosenecks parts. ( https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/boom-rehab.750/ )

Apparently these are nonstandard sheaves. The Rigrite prices are are just preposterous.

7/8" Delrin Sheave - 1/2" wide, 7/16" ID: K-11409: As used on New-style D-Section Gooseneck (reef Sheaves), and in other applications. With rope groove. $22 each

SS Sheave Bushing/Spacer: K-11413: Stainless Steel Bushing/Spacer is 1/2" OD x 3/8" ID x under 9/16" (.552) long. $29 each.

That stopped my hand from bothering to call Zephyrworks, the sheave shop so often commended here. That's because, on closer consideration, there's really nothing wrong with my reef sheaves that a little care won't fix. They were glommed up with Tef-gel and five years of dust, and I'm pretty sure that when I clean up the gooseneck they'll spin fine again.

At $50 each, they'd better.

 

[Bolo]

I did this on my E32-3 back in 2017 and I remember the hassles well.

Boom end sheaves replacement - The Fix on a E32-3

I did a post about this subject earlier this month but decided to re-post a new thread so that any Ericson owners with the same problem will have an easier time of finding a solution. So I hope this was OK for me to do rather then tack it on the end of the old thread. The Problem: Late last...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Nick J]

I replaced these as well. Yours look pretty beat up which makes sense given all the miles you've put on them. Mine were broken, so I didn't really have an option to cleanup and reuse.



If mine looked like yours, I would still replace them to be proactive. I can't find my invoice, but $50 a piece sounds about right after shipping.

One thing to check is where the bushing seats against the aluminum casting (one of the top two holes in the second pic below). On mine, that area wasn't in great shape and the bushing pressed into the casting enough that when the side plate and bolt were attached, it squeezed the new sheeve instead of the bushing so it didn't spin. I thought about fixing it by putting a washer against the casting to give a clean surface for the bushing to mate against. The issue resolved itself after cleaning up the casting during last year's mast rehab project, no washer needed.

Before:


After:


Let's not forget the gold standard fix that Kranich did:

Kenyon gooseneck

WANTED: Kenyon gooseneck Would anybody per chance have a spare Kenyon gooseneck K-43002 and be willing to part with it? I believe they came on E34, E35, and E38s. They are for the Kenyon 3756 booms. Here's the link...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Christian Williams]

Today I removed and replaced the small sheaves after careful cleaning. In my case, that was all it took to get them functioning again.

It may be useful to report that although the sheaves were jammed, it was really caused only by Tef-Gel, the very sticky stuff we apply to prevent corrosion between the aluminum of the kenyon gooseneck and the stainless that supports the small sheaves.

The tolerances there are quite small. The ss bushing is very slightly wider than the Delrin body of the sheave, to allow it to turn. Glop of any kind gums up the works.

The small reefing sheaves are critical to smooth function of slab reefing, second only to the big sheaves at boom end.

There is no purchase for reeflines inside the boom, unlike the arrays there for outhaul and topping lift. I think it can be said that if reefing becomes stiff, it's the sheaves. (If it isn't fat line swollen over 20 years, or the 3/8ths originally recommended by Ericson. General agreement now is that 5/16ths is best for our reef lines)

 

[ky ed]

i would tend to agree that attempting/expecting old stiff swelled up moldy oversized line to ever run freely on sticky greasy goop coated in tef gel nylon blocks inside of boom with no end play to ever make a useful reefing system. $50/block is not out of line with the prices we pay for simple round little things that are supposed to rotate in harsh salt encrusted environment with no maintenance or cleaning for last 40+ years. I spent the last 2 weeks on water trying to get a smooth running trustworthy hunk of faded gold spray paint coated chunk of cast iron to start with a flick of the switch. I feel i have done exactly that after cleaning out a varnish encrusted tank, replacing stiff cracked plug wires, replaced 4 soot coated burnt off electrode over gapped ancient plugs all seized in head, a coil that ran to hot to touch after 15 mins of run time and shorted out. Discovering a simple Motorola alternator that i could buy brand new for 45 bucks made in usa has a burnt winding one shorted and one open diode. Now costs nearly 250 dollars and is made in china and nearly 450 made in old mexico. this is the same alternator i had on my 1974 vega i could get totally rebuilt for 25$ by some old dude working out of his garage his wife fed a lunch of pbj and cold pbr that had a one day turn around now must be shipped to who knows where with an expected delivery of 3 to 5 weeks with Chinese replacement components. All that to just get to the point of sailing. Sailing aint cheap nor is it glamorous. Its hard work in cramped spaces on old neglected things taken for granted to work.

 

[Loren Beach]

Some good points, there.
One of the former contributors to this site (with a lovely restored E-35-2) used to say that three things are needed to own a boat: Time, Money, Skill, and that any two will do!