Commander Pete: You must have a virus in your computer. There is a little sailboat underneath your name and the sails appear to be luffing violently - unless it is only a software glitch.

One note of caution about the gooseneck, based on my experience two years ago. In a flying jibe I experienced, with a preventer to hold the boom down, the gooseneck was the part that gave way, fortunately. I fear that if the gooseneck had not given way, the boom could have been broken, fittings pulled out, sail could have been torn or whatever, but there could have been substantial damage. I could get along with a broken goosenect until I could get it repaired, but the other alternatives would have made my life getting home much more difficult.

The moral of that experience, as I see it, is to keep the gooseneck the weekest link - don't make a gooseneck out of stainless. If anything is going to break, have it be the gooseneck.

Yes, I know your are not supposed to do flying jibes- but for we types that are drinking a beer (and/or reading a good book) when we should be watching the sail..........