Re: M_Boats: sliding gooseneck

Tom, your sliding gooseneck is for offering the possibility of roller reefing: you loosen up the main halyard, pull on the boom out, and then roll it so the mainsail furls on the boom, then push it back in so it can't unroll any more. I had this system on a Compac 16, and worked OK-ish, though I was not thrilled with it. Does not actually work on an M-17, since the mainsheet attaching point is mid-boom, and would be covered by the sail when reefed. If you had end-boom sheeting the system might work, although I much prefer the reefing system in use on the M-17 now. Hope this helps. Andrei.