Is there a correct gooseneck height off the mast step?

[kkolkebeck]

I bought a 92 Capri 14.2 Mod 2 back in May and have been getting the kinks worked out and sailing it since June. I purchased the boat from someone who knew little about sailing and so the rigging on the boat was a mess. Side stays were stretched to be several inches too long and uneven, no hiking straps, loose tangs for stays and jibstay, blocks with no bearings, clam cleats with broken bearings, ultra fat sheets, etc.

At the time there was only a down stopper for the boom gooseneck and it was set very low. This made no sense to me as on most boats the gooseneck is fixed at one height. I was unable to find what the proper setting is. Even the class manual does not have this information. I added a stop to limit the upward motion as well and have played around with the height such that it now carries the sail rope taught with the halyard at the top of the mast. The sail is relatively old with a lot of stretch so when I set the Cunningham it often drops the Cunningham ring in the sail by two inches or so. Set this way the boom is relatively high which I like because we aren't ducking too much when tacking but is it too high?

So my question is, is there a correct height and if so what is it? With my current settings the height from the mast step to the bolt on the gooseneck is 30.5".

 

[LaLi]

I can't say I know anything specific about the Capri, but I believe you're doing the right thing; as a general rule of thumb you want the main to be as high as possible. If the gooseneck height is adjustable then you pull the sail up to the measurement band (if the class in question requires one), or simply as high as the halyard system allows (you may even want to minimize shackle length), push the boom down so that there's a little luff tension even with the cunningham off, and then fasten the gooseneck so that it doesn't move either way from that position. You may also want to change to hoisting the main with the boom disengaged from the mast, as well as taking the boom off the gooseneck before lowering the sail, to make the halyard easier to cleat and uncleat.

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