Reefing with a sliding gooseneck

[benz]

Is there a chance that the mainsail has been replaced, and is just a tiny bit longer than the original one was meant to be? It seems that at full hoist the gooseneck should not be at the lowest position. Unless there's some design nuance I'm not getting. Which is likely.

If there's no lower stop, how do you keep the gooseneck from sliding right out whenever you lower the sail? Must you ensure that the pin on the slider is engaged? A stop should be pretty simple to rig, as should a 'handy billy', as you call it.

I find a topping lift to be a must. How else, without a boom gallows, would you hold up the boom end while taking in a reef? Sometimes you need to tighten it so the sail's luff will bag slightly, instead of being pulled tight by the mainsheet (this was rare for me). Sometimes you want to heave the boom end up really high at anchor so your economy over-the-boom canopy still gives you headroom to sit in the cockpit when it's 100 degrees out. Sometimes you need it to turn the boom into a crane and heave heavy things aboard out of the dinghy.
Ben