After 25,000 NM and while doing some refurb & cosmetic work on WHOOSH, I was able to replace our main boom gooseneck – something I was quite worried about on the last Atlantic Crossing. First, take a look at ‘old’ vs. ‘new’:

If you zoom in on the old gooseneck’s toggle (right), you’ll see 2 of the 4 cracks that were developing. This isn’t just due to fatigue as the stainless material itself begins to fail after several decades of use.

What to do? First, I called Schaefer, the OEM to Pearson of the stock gooseneck hardware. They no longer make the toggle, which is what I wanted to replace. (It is not ‘just’ a normal toggle; there is a heavy walled tube welded onto/behind the toggle’s turn). Second, I called Rigrite. They did track down a Schaefer replacement toggle in their Pearson parts bin…but their asking price? $550 for just the toggle. Third – and where I expected to end up all along – I visited my favorite marine metal shop and had Derek make a complete new assembly (seen on the left in the photo) – a spitting image in all respects – for $275.

Why did I have all parts made vs. just the toggle? First, Derek found a small crack developing in the weld of one of the ‘ears’ of the base plate which mounts to the spar. And second, I’ve come to accept that all stainless is lifetime limited to 2 or 3 decades, no matter what level of stress it sees.

This shop (J.T.R. Enterprises, 1510 51st St. South, Gulfport, FL 33707; 727 321 6321) is where all Gulfstar, Morgan, Endeavor (and many other smaller builder’s) metalwork was fabricated back in the 60’s/70’s/80’s. It’s a great resource as the owner (son/nephew of the original owners, two brothers) works off massive machines, is now very experienced in his own right, and the prices reflect the low overhead of a small family owned business. Highly recommended.

Jack