New Gooseneck

[Norman_E]

Some may remember that I wrote an article for PBO (august 2012, page 73) on repairing a badly worn cast aluminium gooseneck. This September a gybe resulted in the poor quality casting fracturing, revealing its crystalline structure. I had a temporary replacement made in the Saniye at Fethiye, but have now machined a nice new one from good quality aluminium bar stock, and fitted it with the bronze bushes from the broken one.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d164/Sauniere59/DSCF1884.jpg

 

[nigelmercier]

A thing of beauty.

 

[Norman_E]

Thank you, It was a bit of a machining exercise to make it from a length of 40mm x 80 mm bar, to finish 37.5mm thick and shaped so that the holes are at 50mm centres. The curved ends were cut with a nice long end mill using a rotary table that I made from a castings kit about 35 years ago. Photo below.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d164/Sauniere59/DSCF1879.jpg

 

[vyv_cox]

Are you intending to grease it? I find that grease tends to get everywhere and inevitably blackens the sail. When I rebushed my old Kemp gooseneck due to wear I used domestic pvc pipe as the bushes. In about five years it has never needed lubrication of any type and everything remains clean. No visible wear either.

 

[lw395]

I wouldn't have bronze and aluminium together.
Igus bushes?
I need to make one of those, but much smaller for a dinghy. The bit that came with it is plastic.
I'm hoping the right scrap of titanium migt come my way.

Most yacht goosenecks wear out becasue people leave the boom swinging from side to side on the mooring 6 days a week.

 

[Norman_E]

There is no problem at all with bronze bushes in aluminium because the part is not immersed in water.

 

[neil_s]

Could use Oilite sintered bronze bushes, too

 

[sarabande]

that really is an elegant product; I hope you had a lot of pleasure making it.

Simply for the possibility of snagging a line or sheet, could one countersink the grease nipple into a U shaped valley the width of the gun nozzle, or would that involve some awkwardness in drilling the greaseway ?

 

[Woodlouse]

Simply for the possibility of snagging a line or sheet, could one countersink the grease nipple into a U shaped valley the width of the gun nozzle, or would that involve some awkwardness in drilling the greaseway ?

Or just unscrew the grease nipples and insert a grub nut when not greasing.

 

[Norman_E]

that really is an elegant product; I hope you had a lot of pleasure making it.

Simply for the possibility of snagging a line or sheet, could one countersink the grease nipple into a U shaped valley the width of the gun nozzle, or would that involve some awkwardness in drilling the greaseway ?

Yes, it was a nice job making it, using a few tools including the rotary table that had been sat unused for years. There is not really quite enough depth to fully sink the grease nipples, but in practice its not necessary as I had them on the original cast one after I bushed it, and nothing ever snagged on them.