Another gooseneck scrapped

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

Paul Alcock (Eximius) noticed that the gooseneck stud on Esprit du Vent had cracked just like on his boat.  With a little effort Franco and I removed the cap and on Monday morning I will order part K1846 from Catalina Direct.  It does not look like the 4 holes that screws go through to hold the cap to the boom are provided with that part.  And, the cap casting does not appear to be pre-drilled.  So... What type and size screws work best?  Do I need to tap the casting or can I drill a pilot hole to accept the recommended screws?  Any other pieces of advice will be welcomed.

Thanks,

Bob

[Craig Illman]

As I recall on my C34, I went ahead and tapped the casting for bolts instead of the original screws. I made me more confident that I could remove them easily in the future.

Craig 

[Ken Juul]

Why not try getting the part from the factory instead of CD, probably cheaper.  IIRC the screws are machine screws.  Insert the new casting, drill pilot holes using the existing holes on the boom.  Tap to the correct size.  Don't forget the anti seize on the new bolts.  What is big arrow indicating?

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Why not try getting the part from the factory instead of CD, probably cheaper.  IIRC the screws are machine screws.  Insert the new casting, drill pilot holes using the existing holes on the boom.  Tap to the correct size.  Don't forget the anti seize on the new bolts.  What is big arrow indicating?

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the information.  The big arrow was to inform my partner Franco (We own Esprit du Vent in a LLC) where a cotter pin had fallen out.  We had found a thin circular cotter pin on the deck and did not know where it came from.  That is fixed now as shown in the image.  It looks like the PO or the factory had used self-tapping screws to hold the cap to the boom.  I say that because they are not machine screws as you can see in the image.  I will buy the tap, drill bit, and screws at the same time to make sure that they match.  Can you suggest a size?  I will use anti-seize as you suggest.

Thanks again,

Bob

[Jon W]

Mine did not have machine screws, it had screws like you're picture.

[britinusa]

IMHO - the screws don't do very much, the boom is under compression most of the time due to the outhaul tension.

And I had to tap (mit hammer) the castings into the boom ends. So the self tapping screws are just fine.

Paul

[Tom Soko]

Bob,
I agree with you about replacing the self-tapping screws with bolts.  I used 1/4-20x1/2" hex head bolts, drilled and tapped, and installed with lano-coat.  Easy to install and much easier to take apart the next time.

[Mark Sutherland]

Another tip: lubricate the end caps(s) with Lanocoat to facilitate ease of removal in the future.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Forum Readers,

After considering both tapping and self tapping screws I decided to go the tapping route.  Thanks for all of the excellent suggestions.

Cheers,

Bob