worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

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Salacia
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:09 pm

worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by Salacia »

My gooseneck started wearing on the bracket on the mast. See photo. The pin steps down to a very small size at the bottom. When the boom lifted the pin, it allowed the pin to wear against the bracket. I should replace the bracket. Or drill out the bracket and use a larger pin. Has anyone faced this issue before?
I heard there is a concealed opening in the mast opposite the bracket that can be opened to facilitate removing the nuts on the inside of the mast. It is not obvious. Can anyone confirm this and tell me how to find it?
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gooseneck.png
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Stephen Lee
Salacia
F35 Pedrick
Marblehead MA and Rockland ME

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bobr
Posts: 116
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 5:05 pm

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by bobr »

Steve,

There is a plate on the forward side of my mast opposite the goose neck. Some of the fasteners holding the neck to the mast were loosening, and I had the yard repair it. I think they got access by removing the plate. I'll try to post a picture. I don't have any wear like you describe. I have a nut on the bottom of that pin (there is a threaded end on mine) that keeps it snug, so no play.

Hope that helps.
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Bob R.
1995 Freedom 35 (Pedrick)
"Liberty"
Old Saybrook, CT

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RadioZephyr
Posts: 259
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:04 am
Location: Boston, MA

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by RadioZephyr »

Before you go ahead and replace the bracket on the mast (very annoying and fiddly process, requires the mast be out of the boat), I suggest talking to Paul Dennis about it. He’s told me that in the past he has fixed this problem with bronze bushings to counteract the wear.

I replaced my bracket because the factory originally used acorn nuts to affix the bracket to the mast, and I found a couple on my deck while I was offshore. They really need to be nylock nuts, because acorn nuts can’t always tighten down sufficiently. There are eight 1/4-20 hex head bolts that hold the bracket on, and you can only tighten the new nuts through the 1” hole in the forward face of the mast, with a socket on a long extension. Two of the four on each side are easy once you get the socket on them, but the angle makes the other two very difficult. I was able to get about half of the new nuts tight at the time, and I had no more issues for the rest of the season.

When I pulled the mast, I decided to remove all the fasteners and start fresh. Instead of hex head bolts, I used socket heads (with appropriately sized washers). My thinking was that a ball-end Allen wrench would be able to make the angle a little better than a regular socket. I used a socket-mounted Allen wrench so that I could use the extension and ratchet. It worked ok, and was easier than the hex bolts, but that last pair on either side (bottom ones I think) were still very difficult to keep tight. The Allen wrench started slipping, but in the end it provided enough tension to get the nuts tight.

If your nuts have been replaced with nylocks, and they’re all tight, I would leave that bracket where it is and try to get bushings made. If you still have acorn nuts, I would replace them and maybe replace the bracket while you’re at it. I believe that Rig-rite still has them.
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

Mark K.
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:32 pm

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by Mark K. »

I had the same problem and rebuilt the bracket and am VERY pleased with my results.
I have looked at several Freedoms and this is a common problem so I concluded that just replacing the parts would lead to the same wear problem all over again so I decided to improve the design.
As for the the plate inside the mast, I do not have an access port and had heard that there is a plate in there with threads tapped into it to hold in the mounting screws. Not wanting the plate to drop I loosened the bracket and was able to loosely tread in a couple of screws to hold the plate in place and keep it from dropping before removing the bracket entirely. There must have been some adhesive holding it in place anyway but I would not remove the bracket without making sure the plate could not drop while removing the bracket.
I had a welder build up the worn away aluminum part of the bracket and pressed in bronze bushings for the hinge pin and the cross bolt. these can now be pressed out and replaced if they begin to wear. I also used stainless steel conical self aligning washers to support the weight of the boom pressing down on the bracket to prevent wear from reoccurring. I would recommend use the same washers but in bronze for anyone else doing this repair/upgrade.
Another problem was the stainless steel bolt that was used as a hinge pin. Part of the threaded area of the bolt is on a pressure bearing surface and the horizontal pressure caused the threads to dig and and wear on the aluminum parts. It should be replaced with either a solid smooth stainless steel pin or I used a stainless bolt with a long shank where the locknut completely covers the threads. It took a little machining to get it just right.
Vertical and horizontal bronze bushing installed
Vertical and horizontal bronze bushing installed
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I bought the bushings and conical washers through McMaster-Carr.
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Completed repair
Completed repair
IMG_0570.jpg (973.42 KiB) Viewed 1720 times
Note the weight bearing conical self aligning washers
Note the weight bearing conical self aligning washers
IMG_0566.jpg (1.93 MiB) Viewed 1720 times

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RadioZephyr
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Location: Boston, MA

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by RadioZephyr »

Very nice! I’ve never heard of conical self aligning washers, I’ll have to look into those. I think you mistook the OP’s situation though, as his issue is with the gooseneck for his boom, and yours is the vang bracket. However, the problem is essentially the same, so no harm done!

I actually have the same vang bracket, with the same design problems. I used a stack of washers to take up the slop in the hinge pin bolt, and while it definitely works, it’s not ideal. I eventually want to have the bracket remade in stainless, as I think the aluminum is going to give up one of these days. It was already slightly bent when I got the boat, which means the holes for the hinge bolt aren’t exactly concentric, so getting it all the way in requires turning it with a wrench (and digging the threads into the aluminum).
Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

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RadioZephyr
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Location: Boston, MA

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by RadioZephyr »

I thought I'd post a few pictures, in case anyone else has this issue.

This is the gooseneck, shortly after I found the acorn nut on deck. When I first looked at the gooseneck, the top two bolts were just sticking through without nuts on them. I carefully pulled each one out and steadied them with a putty knife, and was able to thread on the regular nuts that are pictured. They weren't tightened, but it would keep them from falling out into the mast. Later, once we were on a mooring, I borrowed a long socket extension and was able to replace them with nylock nuts.
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This is the view through the mast hole, prior to the replacement of the fasteners and bracket. It looks like they didn't even use washers, but they may just not be visible, I don't recall.
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These are the parts I ordered from McMaster when I was planning the replacement. I was very worried about making sure that the nuts didn't loosen up after installation, so I ordered screws with nylon inserts in addition to the regular screws, though I eventually decided not to use them. The distorted-thread locknuts and generously applied loctite seemed more than capable of keeping everything tight.
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Josh
Sunset Spy
F38, Hull #152
Boston, MA

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Camino
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Location: Stockton, CA

Re: worn gooseneck bracket F35P '97

Post by Camino »

Interesting thread— pics below show my f35 P gooseneck and forward mast section. My mast does have an access plate as seen although the gooseneck looks similar. The bolt below needs a washer. Tried to remove the cotter pin this morning but couldn’t do it - need more tools!

Edit 1-6-22. Used c clamp to lower gooseneck bolt and added washers and pin
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Tom and Stephanie
Good Way II F 35 (P)
1999. Wing Keel 5’
3GM30F, 3-blade maxi prop
Emery Cove, CA

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