Gaff Gooseneck Damage

[Jim in TC]

Couple of things I note from these (and your earlier) images:

1. There is a set of 'guides' I will call them just below the hinge. I have had some hanging up at the hinge as the sail is raised and those prevent that, yes? Are they standard now, and what are they called in the parts list, if you know. Or if after market, where obtained?

2. These latest images show a 'bolted on' semi-permanent hinge arrangement instead of the removable pin, which have recently established could go overboard in the worst case. It doesn't look like it would cause any difficulties with getting all below the hinge when lowering the mast, would eliminate any issue with loss, and prevent the possibility of dropping the mast before remembering to pin it (hey, that didn't happen to me, but it was a near thing). Is there a downside to that I don't see?

[bruce]

First one's easy. I'm pretty sure they are called "mast sail guides", part number RA00M0048 on both the SC and PC parts list, $43.79.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xtfxq40jvl9esw9/AADHttjwMACdw5Voo2NYBoLVa?oref=e&preview=SUN+CAT+PARTS+AUGUST+2016.pdf
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xtfxq40jvl9esw9/AADHttjwMACdw5Voo2NYBoLVa?oref=e

I'm not sure how much guiding they do, but I've left mine on. I know a couple of PC sailors who took them off, don't remember exactly why, but the halyards can get captured in there. Hasn't caused a problem for me, but I will come into the wind to take the pressure off and clear them.

The second question I'm a little confused about. I'm guessing you're looking at the last photo, and are referring to the two bolts that are the hinge pivot. The two bolts are standard, the long pin is never the pivot, just a gate that you can use to help ensure the goosenecks and slugs are below the hinge before you fold the mast down. Some use the long pin to hold stuff up once the mast is raised. I don't, and my boom downhaul is set so the boom is centered right at the hinge when the sail is raised. It looks like at least some SCs have a turning block on the boom downhaul that leads to a cam cleat, so it can be adjusted easily. On the PC, we just have a horn cleat on the mast stub, and I use the downhaul as a hold down and tension the luff with the throat halyard. The other pin in the hinge assembly is the curved pin on a lanyard on the front of the mast that holds the mast up while you rig the forestay, as a safety.

Let me know if I've missed your point. In my 8 seasons with my PC, this is first time the long pin did anything besides hang on its lanyard waiting patiently for the next time I needed it.

I don't have any great photos of the hinge, but this one may help.

[Jim in TC]

Well there I go again with some bad advice from the previous owner...and I can see now why the question did not seem to make sense.

I have been using that long pin as the hinge pivot because that was all there was to use when we put the pieces together, and the (previous) owner (who was there for most of the process) had nothing more to say when I suggested that the pin did not look to me like all of the needed hinge hardware.

Appears to me that a couple stainless steel bolts and lock nuts will do the trick, and with the boat back in the driveway this will be the next 'repair.'

[bruce]

1/4-20 x 3/4".

[Jim in TC]

Exactly what I needed to know!

[rogerschwake]

On the goose neck I made spacers out of 3/4" round stock with a 1/4" hole in the center
to fit between the two ears. Then used a bolt and castle nut so the ears can't spread apart. Have been using this set up for more than a couple years with no problem. 

ROGER

[Zephyros]

Roger, your spacers idea sounds great, I may give it a try.

Jim, here are some photos of my 2007 Sun Cat Daysailer mast hinge. This first one shows how it was when I purchased the boat a few months ago, the mast section hinge half was outside of the lower mast stub hinge half. When raising the mast I was getting a twist and the sail track was not aligned for hoisting the sail. Upon closer inspection I could see scars on the outside of hinge showing it was moved by a previous owner. So I reset the hinge so the upper mast section half is now inside, between the lower mast stub hinge half, this greatly reduced the sail track twist and hoisting is better with just a slight amount of track misalignment. Can any of the experienced suncater's confirm I have this correct?

The third picture shows the 1/4-20 x 3/4" bolts, note the use of inside and outside flat washers and the Nylock nuts to avoid the pivot bolts from loosening up, as far as I can tell these are factory original.

[Jim in TC]

I like the idea of those spacers as well. I thought that the new gooseneck had been designed in a way that those would not be necessary. But when I went to look, I realized that my whole original idea on this issue was wrong. (And those spacers still seem prudent).

Anyway, to update: the gooseneck as I was using it from the previous owner was missing a whole piece of the universal. If photos attached correctly, the first will be our old, damaged gooseneck. The second is the replacement. Close observation will reveal that on the replacement there is a 'sticky-outy' piece (I strive always to use correct, nautical, terminology) that is completely missing from the damaged one. Once I saw that, it became abundantly clear that ours was no longer a universal joint, but only hinged in one direction.

The damage is much easier the explain with this problem. What is puzzling is just how this happened. Either the fitting was disassembled more than necessary when all of the spars we removed from the boat or it broke on what would have had to be one of the last times out and was jury-rigged and never made right. I will be exploring this with the previous owner one of these days...

[Jim in TC]

And here is the image of the damaged one...

[bruce]

I see what you're saying, Jim. It was hard to make it out in the original photo at first, but that's the slide we see on the right. No wonder the fork collapsed.

[Jim in TC]

<<<No wonder the fork collapsed.>>>

Ain't that the truth! And I feel like I should have been able to diagnose that problem right from the start, especially with an almost identical example just below on the boom. Ah, well, expensive lessons hold up best, right?

[bruce]

I think replacement was totally justified, who knows what stresses hadn't revealed themselves yet. The casting looks robust, but I know of a case where an ear broke off. Failure underway wouldn't be pretty.