main downhaul setup and motor shaft length.

[Bocamo Bob]

I purchased a '79 CP16 and there is no setup for the main down haul.  The gooseneck appears to be upside down (the ring at the top) and is fixed into the slot below the gate with a screw.  In looking at pictures on this site, most boats seem to have a cleat in the slot for the down haul.  My question is, "how is that cleat attached to the mast?".  Is it just screwed in or slid in like on a catamaran?  All cleats have been removed from the sides of the mast as well and the halyards pass to jam cleats via fairleads.

One other question:  do I need a 20" (long) shaft on the motor?  It seems like 15" would be more than enough.

[Bob23]

Hi B-Bob! From one Bob to another, I can't address your cleat issue but your ourboard should be at least a 20" shaft. Cavitation is a bummer!

  I'm a 23 owner and even the old 20" shaft didn't work very well so I went up to a 25" shaft Tohatsu Sailpro.
Bob23

[RedLeg]

Pics would help us diagnose?

[crazycarl]

I have a 19/II and the downhall cleat is in the mast sail slot.

[Bocamo Bob]

what holds the cleat in place?  Is it just screwed into the mast through the slot or attached to a tube that slides into the slot and is fixed by some other means?

[Bob23]

B-Bob:
  On my 23, the downhaul cleat is screwed to the starboard side of the mast. My boat came like that. If you decide to go this route, do not use sheet metal screws. It's a better (and more secure) job to drill and tap the holes and use machine screws, stainless of course. Putting some graphite grease such as Never-sieze on the threads will prevent galvanic corrosion, but any grease is better than nothing. Even Vasoline will work fine.
Bob23

[brackish]

This (pic) is how my downhaul is attached on my 23.  There is a ring on the bottom of the gooseneck and then a cleat centered on the mast.  I've never thought about how the cleat is secured, I suspect a backing plate using the attachment screws for compression.  I don't like it and have bought some small diameter dyneema to make a replacement so I can also use that cleat as a spinnaker halyard cleat.  Since its only purpose is to restrict the upward movement of the boom when tensioning the main and is not used as a cunningham, I would rather have a fixed, ultra low stretch line that doesn't use up all the cleat. You can also see that the line interferes with the sail stop that is only used to keep the boom from dropping too far.  I have a better system to keep the sail slides above the gate.

[crazycarl]

On our 19 the cleat is fastened with a drilled and tapped aluminum tube inside the sail slot.  This allows it to be moved up, down or removed.

[Bocamo Bob]

Thanks for the picture.  So, I'm assuming that the cleat is held in place by the tension of the screws into the tube and clamping it to the mast and to slide it out you must relax the screws.  I gather that when you drop the mast you don't necessarily have to remove the cleat.

[crazycarl]

Thanks for the picture.  So, I'm assuming that the cleat is held in place by the tension of the screws into the tube and clamping it to the mast and to slide it out you must relax the screws.  I gather that when you drop the mast you don't necessarily have to remove the cleat.

Exactly!

[kickingbug1]

    my catalina 18 has a jam cleat that works well

[In The Pocket]

The gooseneck appears to be upside down (the ring at the top) and is fixed into the slot below the gate with a screw. 

You likely have a roller reefing boom.  Pull the gooseneck away from the boom and twist it.  It's built to do that.  That may be why your gooseneck looks upside down.

[Bocamo Bob]

No, it's not a roller boom.  I wish it was.  I cannot fathom why someone would put it on upside down and then fix it with a screw.  The only way to stow the boom was to remove the clevis pin (which was also upside down).  I found the original holes in the mast slot and happened to have the appropriate #8 bolts and nyloc nuts and a cleat with 1.25" spacing.  Getting the nuts on the bolts by going up through the mast was a job in tool creativity that would have made a gynecologist proud.  My next task is to get a longer main sheet, figure out how the reefing is supposed to work and to rewire the lights.  Thanks for everyone's help with the downhaul dilemma.