Best Gooseneck for Goth RG65?

RG65 Class General Discussion (RG65)
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What is the best gooseneck/kicking-strap (vang) for the MX Goth RG65?

One possibility seems to be the SailsEtc 012RG. A drawing is shown at http://www.sailsetc.com/downloads/2014/12RG.pdf. Although I can’t tell for sure, it appears by the drawing that the upward movement of the boom is restricted (the heel of the stainless steel plate rests against the head of the adjustment screw) but there is nothing but the sail to restrict the downward movement. If that is the case, the 012RG acts very much like a boom vang on a full-size sailboat. Did I get this right? Is this okay on the RG65? (Other gooseneck/kicking-strap assemblies for larger RC sailboats often restrict the movement of the boom in both directions.)

The 012RG would seem to put the boom about 30 to 35 mm (or higher) above the deck (or above the CF tube into which the 8 mm mast is set). Does that put the foot of the sail too high?

The angle of the boom (assuming the mast is vertical) is adjustable between 0 and 18 degrees. Is that about right for the Goth RG65?

Has anyone out there used the 012RG with a Goth RG65? Suggestions?

Another possibility would be to use an IOM gooseneck (like the Variant Marine VM001 from Brighton Boat Works, http://stores.rcsailboatparts.com/variant-gooseneck-pack/) and modify it to make it work on the RG65. It seems one would need to disassemble the gooseneck and cut the “body” down, perhaps making it half as tall as it is now. That would reduce the body from 45 mm to about 22 mm. Then one would have to carefully crimp the edges of the “body” so it would fit snugly onto an 8 mm mast. (The VM001 is designed to work with a mast of 10.9 to 12.7 mm OD.) Alternatively one would need to "pad out’ the 8 mm mast so it would accept the larger gooseneck body.

The shortened VM001 could be mounted either “boom up” (as is done on the IOM) or “boom down”. The latter would allow one to position the boom nearly on the deck (or nearly at the end of the mast tube). But if you mount it “boom down” then the kicking strap will be in compression rather than in tension. That seems (to me) to be a possibility, but I would like some “expert opinions” first!

Any thoughts or suggestions about this possible (modified VM001) approach?

Does anyone have any better (or alternative) suggestions? I am willing to buy a gooseneck (even the more costly SailsEtc 11c) and modify it if that is the “best” way to go. I could design and make my own, but that seems to me to be the “hard way”.

I have available to me a lathe, a milling machine, and all of the normal (and some out-of-the-ordinary) tools at my disposal. But I’d rather not be a pioneer if I can avoid it!

One last thing: I would really like to have a ball-race gooseneck as I have seen (on my ODOMs) that it makes a difference in very light airs.

What about taking the DF gooseneck and modifying that? The bearings in the DF gooseneck are only 5 mm ID, so they would have to go, as would the part that goes around the mast (the body). I’d have to design and make a new body to accept larger bearings (required to slide over the 8 mm mast). But since I have the tools, that’s not at all out of the question.

This is getting more in line with the approach taken with the SailsEtc 012rg. The boom pivots around the centerline of the mast. Compare that with the modified IOM gooseneck approach in which the boom pivots about an axis that is 9 or 10 mm aft of the mast centerline.

One advantage here (a modified DF gooseneck) is that the kicking strap is rigid (in compression and tension) and there is no doubt about what is controlling the boom angle!

Lacking any other inputs, I’ll proceed down the “modified DF gooseneck” path for now.

Suggestions?

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I was in the same boat… bad pun sorry. Being the creative and cheap guy I am I started making these, among other things.
It works with boom up or down.
I also do a pretty close copy of the Micro Magic gooseneck.

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Hi Dean, the 12RG gooseneck can be easily removed for cleaning especially when sailing in salt waters. The 0-18° is much more then needed and probably is not reached ! Because of the hinge point, the extreme end of the boom is getting closer to the mast when moving up. Setting may require particular attention ! It may be that this type of gooseneck can be set up side down. see attachment
ClaudioD

PS: just added a couple of drawing for comparison and one as a self made gooseneck that is the cheapest solution for me.

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Hi Claudio you sure do think this thru more than I do. I don’t see it as a real problem unless you attach the sail to the boom in the extreme low position and then raise it all the way up and your boom is extremely short and you run out of outhaul.
Once set up I rarely turn the turnbuckle more than a half turn. I know people who have gone to a single thread because the double end screw is to much movement for them to fine tune.
craig

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Craig, you are right that the turns involved are very few and therefore the distance ‘Mast-Boom tip’ variation is probably less then 1mm.
Interesting to know that this phenomenon occurs.
Was just an observation by comparing two gooseneck system.
ClaudioD

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I started to draw up the mods I would need to make to adapt the DF gooseneck to the 8mm mast and 6mm boom. If I pay myself at minimum wage, the most expensive goosenecks in the world are cheap! (I have to consider the time because time in the shop is time taken from sailing!)

I’m going to look seriously at the SailsEtc 012RG, the smaller 012MM as well as the Ball Bearing gooseneck kit from breakingwindboats.com.

I confirmed with the folks at SailsEtc that the 012RG and 012MM prevent the boom from coming up, but it’s the sail that prevents it from dropping down. This is precisely the action we have on the 011-series goosenecks that one used on IOM, US1M and ODOMs. Turning the 012RG or 012MM upside down won’t work! If you do that, you no longer have a vang … just a nice gooseneck. But of course one could add a vang! (The 012MM body is shorter … 20mm vs. the 30mm for the 012RG.)

The BreakingWind part appears to be similar to the DF “stock” gooseneck/kicking-strap in that the boom is not free to move up or down. That might ease some stress on the main.

BTW, Caudio’s self-made rig is really clever! I’d go that way except I feel I need the BB gooseneck for extremely light airs. (I’ll be sailing in some 0-2 kt winds in September! Real drifting matches!)

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Dean,
in the Bantock gooseneck, the Wang is intrinsic part of the construction with the push-pull action exerted by the spinning wheel on the tread shaft.
ClaudioD

see: http://sailsetc.com/magento/index.php/products-by-class/rg65-class/fittings/mast-fittings/gooseneck-kicking-strap-1134.html

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Just putting it out there. My RG65 Gooseneck broke in that Summer Series we had down here in Tasmania, and last week, I replaced it with one out of DF spares. I was fortunate enough to have spare bearings to fit both the gooseneck and the diameter of my mast and it fits very well. very inexpensive repair that is as good as new.

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I have long been a believer in lightweight, uncomplicated (and cheap) solutions.

Here is my solution to a vang (tension) that I use successfully on my RG65’s It is a polyurethane tube (slice) that is a tight fit on the boom - and used to tension the entire vang by sliding forward to tighten and aft to loosen. A bowline (knot) attaches the white line to the poly tubing.

I use a hook to the boom, and run the white line through the hook, and down to another hook - making several “purchases” of the white line. The hook towards the mast simply hooks into a loop tied into the orange (nylon) line which has several wraps around the mast and CA glue holds the knots tight. The orange line can rotate around the mast.

Once the white line is hooked to the orange line, it is a simple matter to just push the tubing on the boom to control vang tension. My guess is that the weight is almost negligible, adjustments are quick without needing turns of any kind of adjuster, and the cost is well under any metal ones that might have tendency to rust…

This is on my son-in-law’s boat and he doesn’t race. You can mark lines on the boom for repetitive tubing adjustment settings if you race and want to replicate settings for sail tune.

Just offering as a quick, easy alternative for consideration.

Dick

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Dick:

Your clever and simple solution looks good, but for me, too elastic. I like a vang that is firm and does not stretch when the wind blows…

My 2 cents.

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Thomas - you know, performance catamarans have used nylon line for a way to attach shrouds to hull tangs for strength light weight and even to take up shock loads from waves.

For my r/c boats when used, I generally will pre-stretch all of the lines I use and find there is seldom an issue of stretch. If concerned about stretch, there are a lot of places to look on a boat where stretch/deflection could be an issue.

Keel, Rudder, Mast, shroud fittings, halyards, sheets, boom deflection, steering push/pull connections from servo to rudder, jib forestay, deck flex under a deck mounted boom, keel trunks, servo mountings, are all subject to stresses in some way.