Which way is "up" on horn cleat tube?

[Bill Tatum]

I need to reinsert the horn cleat to which the goose neck gets tied. The horn cleat attaches to a metal tube that fits inside the mast, such that the horn cleat is mounted in the slot in the mast. The horn cleat attaches at the very end of the tube, and I need to know if the metal tube needs to be inserted in the mast with the "horn cleat end" on top or on the bottom. I'm thinking that placing the metal tube inside the mast with the long end of the tube on top could possibly provide a "stop" that the goose neck rests on, but that's pure speculation by a newbie who is trying to figure out "which end is up" :>)

[K.C. Walker]

The long end up is good for me. It provides a stop for the sliding gooseneck if you want to set a stop, and still leaves some room to work the cleat. I set mine to stop at the class rules distances. If you have an old baggy sail, and you're not racing, you might want to set the stop a little lower so that you can flatten the sail a bit more and move the draft forward. If you do set it lower you don't have to pull it all away down to the stop with the down haul. If you have an older sail you can experiment to determine what gets you the proper 50% back sail camber in moderate air and then set your stop to that point. After that you can use the Cunningham to move the draft forward when necessary. If you don't have a Cunningham rigged you can set the stop lower and use the down haul instead, though it is not as easy to control underway.

[Bill Tatum]

Thank you for the reply. This site is the doorway to a vast world of information!