Handling a Gaff Rig (UPDATED) | Ep. 257
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- Some years ago I cut a video on handling the gaff rig and it became one of my most popular videos. Questions about the gaff rig appear in the comments section and in my email on a regular basis. Since the original video was somewhat crude, being one of my earliest, I thought it time for an update.
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VIDEO REFERENCES
(Schooner Columbia) • Columbia - 141’ Racing...
(Jolie Brise) • Jolie Brise - the boat...
(Maine Windjammers) • Maine Windjammer Parade
(Around Cape Horn) • Video
LITERARY REFERENCES
The Way of a Ship, by Alan Villiers
Hand, Reef and Steer, by Tom Cunliffe
The Sailmaker's Apprentice, by Emiliano Marino
MUSIC: Haul Away Joe (traditional) --- The Eskies
Daydream -- Land of Fire
Carefree -- Hotham
VIDEO SOUNDTRACKS: / user-177118317
CAMERAS:
Canon EOS 60D with EF 24-105mm L IS zoom lens
Go Pro Hero 7 Black
DRONE:
DJI Phantom 3 Professional
THE BOAT: Design: Gilmer 31; LOD 31', LWL 25', Beam 9.5', Draft 4.5', Displ. 13,600lbs.
I'm an over the hill sailor and in my youth I lived and sailed around Florida and Bahamas on an old 50 foot gaff rigged Newfoundland fishing schooner. To my mind no sailboat comes close to being as beautiful as a classic gaff rigged schooner under full sail. Thanks for keeping the gaffer spirit alive.
A Pinky schooner
You absolutely nailed it in every aspect! Exactly the reasons I wanted a gaffer. We bought a 40ft wooden Colin Archer pilot cutter. A wooden boat has a soul, can be maintained from local wood with handtools. She is simple in every way, but she is hard work. You're much closer to nature.
Simple, beautiful and gracious.
Just watched your reels. She sure looks like a beauty! Fair winds mate.
My guess is this video will, over time, be a very popular production. Kudos to Kevin and Ms Avery.
Thanks Rich!
Good morning from Japan, Kevin.
I have been following you for 5 or so years and I just want to say that you have completely changed the way I sail.
I have a 25 footer with an engine, but the engine is almost never on.
Silence.
Thank you.
Gary
"Casting off mooring lines and sensible advise"
That hit right in the feels.
You don’t see too many gaff rigs these days. But when you do, it’s almost majestic! Absolutely gorgeous boats.
Funny you say that. Someone around here converted a Thistle dinghy to gaff rig. No idea on how it sails.
One niche where the gaff rig still dominates is on the river sailing yachts on the Norfolk Broads, in the UK.
@@jakereich yeah, Europe always has the coolest stuff!
As a novice ‘gaffer’ (and sailor), this was a great video. Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by!
Excellent video! I thoroughly enjoy following your old school expertise sailing skills. You are the only sailing video that offers the history behind the type of rigging. You are a true scholar of sailing
No argument from this bermudan rig sailor. But I'm happy every day i see a sailboat actually ssiling . And not firing up the diesel just because they cant sail the rumline or haven forbid if the wind should come forward of the mast... but i do love the complex simplicity of the gaffer.. thanks for an inspiring video Kevin. Best regards from Jarle
"The complex simplicity of the gaffer". I might have to borrow that. Especially when I get to the gaff topsail ...
@@howtosailoceans1423 👍
Fantastic Kevin!! As a guy who learned to sail on old gaffers out of Camden this it the best lesson I have ever seen on the beauty of traditional boats! Well done Sir!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by.
Excellent commentary on gaff rig. I personally sail a sprit rigged cat ketch and find that to be reasonably adaptable to any sailable situation. Thanks Kevin. Appreciated
All good, informative stuff that confirms what I learned on my 35ft gaff cutter, which I owned for 23 years and sailed about 150,000 nm. A couple of minor variations:
1 On the luff lashing, I reversed the direction of the lashing around the mast each time it went through the eyes on the luff. This style of lashing is less inclined to bind on the mast while hoisting or lowering the sail.
2 After experimenting, I decided that the mainsail set better with the foot loose (not lashed to the boom). This also simplifies the cut of the sail.
3 I had a vang to the end of the gaff to keep the gaff from bearing on the cap shroud. This vang was also useful to prevent the gaff from skying if the bunt of the sail filled with wind while lowering the main while running in heavy weather (generally only a problem in the Southern Ocean). The vang led to the weather rail and also allowed a bit of control of twist of the head of the sail.
4. With a keel-stepped mast I found that I could do away with the running backstays, but this is very dependent on the stiffness of the mast.
5. I fitted a standing topmast and made a permanent light extension to the gaff to do away with the topsail yard and jackyard. The topmast was a light, unstayed affair as it is never in use except in light airs. This converted the topsail from being a bit of a bastard to handle to being the easiest sail on the boat to set and strike. An under appreciated virtue of a topsail is that it steadies the whole rig down in light, rolly conditions so the lower sails slat less and hold their wind better.
Thanks for sharing. I just recently set my topsail, and I agree the yard and jackyard are quite mischievous while being hoisted, will try to foul anything and everything. Interesting on the luff lacing. Jamming is not usually a problem, but it does happen. I do sometimes have the problem of the lacing becoming too loose when deep reefed.
Thanks for sharing. I just recently set my topsail and I agree with you that the yard and jackyard are quite mischievous while being hoisted, will try to foul just about anything. Interesting on the luff lacing. I don't find that jamming is normally a problem. I do, however, have the issue to the lacing becoming too loose when deep reefed.
In addition to zig zagging the luff lashing, I have it in sections, each section tied off top and bottom. Section 1 throat to 3rd reef, section 2 third to second reef etc. This keeps constant tension as the sail is reefed.
The force of gravity does not apply to jackyards.
'Man unto woman born has but a short time to live
He goes up like a jackyard topsail and comes down like a flying jib'
Thanks. Covered that fascinating topic fully yet succinctly. In all previous videos I'd failed to notice an important detail until you described gybing: the backstays! Loosening and tightening the leeward/windward backstays. Don't know how I managed to miss controlling those particular strings all this time, but I did.
Kevin ,the beauty the old school like no other . Were all other vessels measure their worth to a gaffer and that of the Capts ,such as her line both in strength beauty.
The Gaffer , like no others now or evermore.
Wonderful clip Kevin
Angus
SV Violet Walters😮
Amen to that.
Your best video yet. I learned a lot, and anyone with even a passing interest in sailing should watch this!
I will be rewinding this episode over and over again all summer as I learn the old art on my little catboat. I would love to see S/v Ruth Avery under way on the waters of Long Island Sound one day! Thank you for the inspiration to begin my own sailing adventures!!! Best wishes Kevin.
For general interest, the Cutter with Tan sails and DS2 on the Mainsail is Jolie Breeze a Le Harve Pilot Cutter from the 1900’s . She is presently owned and sailed as the Dauntsey School’s character building and sailing vessel. I’ve raced against her and she is fast and well handled. Thanks for a lovely video, you passed the test!! 🤣
I AM IMPRESSED YOU ARE A GREATE WRITER. GREAT VOICE AND SOUND, THE AEREO CAMERA WORK WAS EXELENT. THIS IS A GREATE VIDEO THANKS . SALUDOS
I would love to see you right now your topsail.
Pilot cutters are the most beautiful boat out there!
Best explanation for a gaffer I've seen. Well done!
This channel keeps getting better, as does the quality of your prose.
Thank you for another interesting and enjoyable. Between the wars my father's uncle was a captian of a schooner in the far East. His son wanted a bicycle for Christmas, his mum wrote to ask the captian if this was ok in Sept after Easter the reply came yes but not for more than 5 pounds, this was in Dublin.
Still a popular variation on Larger Wharams the Wharram gaff riged wingsail.. a simple safe and efficient development of the tradidion for offshore cruising .
Well done and good writing, Thanks for advocating fo the gaff!
This video gave me answers to so many of my questions!
And I really liked what you said about the gaff rig beeing much more "self-sufficient". I never thought of that.
Thanks for stopping by, glad you found it informative!
That was a GREAT video! Gaff-rigs are beautiful. No doubt about it.
I had a Catboat that I loved esp. when off the wind a point or so she would enjoy showing her stern to a plastic boat.
I am 73 and i have now a 23 food yarmouth gaffel cutter.their is extra boom for a topsail,but
i dont now how to raise the top sail,so yes a video .gr from Belguim
A lot of the cruising cats and even the lighter monohulls start running for cover above 15 knots while the heavier boats are finding their sweet spot. I like having a full keel and though backing up is not much fun the rest of it is a win.
Forever redefined to me in the immortal words of Dodge Morgan as the "double hernia rig." Anyone who calls a gaffer slow never went up against one on a reach. And anyone who ever crossed an ocean hoped for no wind angle so much as a reach.
An excellent commentary on gaff rigs and the spirit of sailing. As usual a great episode :)
Being from the great lakes gaff rigged schooners are my favorite. I like the Tall Ships.
Great video Kevin. My little Haven 12 1/2 is gaff rigged and I love sailing it.
Love those boats, one of Nat Herreshoff's most perfect designs.
I love sailing my Gaff Ketch!!
Wonderfully put. Loved the script. Love your channel. As someone who is lucky enough to get tonsail a friends sails mk2 24ft cornish crabbber i known what you mean about the topsails. Still i love how many strings luggers have to play with. Plus baffling my sailing friends with talk of roving backstays. 😊
kevin…one of your best informative videos yet!…you answered many of the questions i’ve had regarding gaff rigs…and you’ve articulated what is so appealing to me…the simplicity and ability to source common parts to keep her functioning…im not sure i understand why she tacks more efficiently in tight runs while giving up 10 degrees…i’ll have to think about this a little more, because i want to know…thanks buddy!
I like it. I built myself a gaff cutter a couple of decades ago. My choice of gaff rig arose because I could build the rig myself, as you say, with hand tools thus saving a great deal of scarce cash She was a very handy sea boat and although I no longer own her, 25 years later, she's still wearing the original gaff mainsail. Power to ya Kevin.
Bloody good episode Kevin. Haul away!
Hello Kevin, It was a pleasure to meet you today and see Ruth Avery in person. Thank you for some more excellent content.
Is this John Pender? Glad you enjoyed the vid!
@@howtosailoceans1423
Yes Sir.
Hope your repairs go smoothly!
Take care
Thanks for mentioning Brittany :)
Beautifully presented!
Great informative video. Gaffs a fabulous boats and as you point out are the backbone of working yachts all over the world. My memories of Thames yachts with their sails is a very special one. Incomparable beauty to my mind! ❤❤
Excellent as always. Often you describe things I already know, but in different ways, deepening my understanding.
One of your best videos ever 👌👏
Your videos have inspired me to rent a gaff rigged boat from Hunter's Boat Yard on the Norfolk Broads later this year. Not deep ocean sailing, of course, but still an old fashioned gaff rig, and a wooden boat to boot!
Enjoy! First I've ever heard of a rental gaffer ..
Good video Kevin - As a Bermudan rig sailor I too love the look of a gaff rigger boat. There's a certain nostalgia when you see one in full flight but I think there are also very very few advantages of the rig. However I can see no reason to choose a gaff rig except where you like ,want and seek tradition, where the choice of the rig determines you choice of boat. While they use traditional materials, they are more complex, take longer to deploy and possibly require more maintenance than modern rigs. Each to their own but I'll stick to my Bermudan rig ... while gazing forever at those old gaffers with their topsails flying and the cutter rig doing it's thing so well.
This was a very informative video. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
Great video and thank you for making!
I got a Blackwater Sloop recently and have no experience (Yet) with gaff rigs and these videos are incredibly informative!
Top man Kevin!
If this were the only video you ever posted, it would still sum up your ethos perfectly. Very well done!
I learned a bit more, and was much inspired.
Another note, regarding the comparison of a gaffer to a Model T: aside from being simple and easily repairable, like a gaffer, a Model T could go anywhere, in all conditions....eventually.
I sail a small catboat and the gaff rig is absolutely wonderful. I learn more everyday and getting it to perform takes skills few modern sailors understand. Sure I could go to weather better with a Bermuda rig but the joy I get to get what I do is worth the few degrees to weather.
I love cat boats. Actually the Marshall cats do amazingly well to windward from what I've observed.
Thanks for what you're doing to keep gaff alive. Even the venerable Tom Cunliffe has a (lovely) modern rig. But he'd be the first to admit that gaff is not out of date and remains as viable and useful as it always was. A powerful downwind rig that can be easily powered up, or down, is a supremely useful tool, and repeated claims about performance to weather of more modern rigs miss the point entirely.
Yes for the Top Sail vid. I have always loved the "technical" line handling and versatility of sail plans of Gaffs. I suppose I would equate gaff vs. Bermuda to a stick shift vs. an automatic. Aesthetically, a Gaff rigged "Anything" ... Ketch as a personal favorite... over a Bermuda rig any day. Not to mention, Fat Bottom girls love the Islands.
This is what I was looking for! Thank you!
Fair winds!
Working men on boats, not always hell bent on high-speed but rather benefiting from more power, needed the lower center of effort in order to work on more level decks. And, dredging for scallops or, draging in tow a loaded fish net was done off the wind with all of that extra sail area providing the pull needed.
Great video! Appreciate the point of view. Love watching you sail your boat, especially without the assistance of a diesel.
dude love it the up to date remake master piece The gaff Rig, never let me down love the clips of HTSO!!!! thank you sir i own a tahiti ketch gaff
I'm restoring my inherited 28 ft steel gaffer which is also pole masted, I'd love to see a video of the top sail as I'd like to rig one similar. Thanks for the videos!
Hi, Kevin, you’ve got some hours into this one kind of a pleasant departure from the usual. Nice work. Stay hydrated while make and mending up in Harpswell. Not much of a breeze there.
Thanks Karl. This video was more labor intensive than usual, but I wanted to do something more high end on gaff rig.
Nice presentation, thank you. Enjoyed the music at the end, too! 😀
Ty! Nice for calm weather 😊
That was an outstanding video! Thank you so much for the time you put into this. I learned a lot. I'm subscribing.
Always look forward to your videos, I'm a small boat sailor and the gaff rig is my favorite ..
A very informative vid thx for that...
I would strongly advise against hoisting a gaff peaked. If the peak is higher, the weight of the gaff will press the gaff jaws against the mast, both causing wear and making the throat halyard heavy. Due to the friction of the hoops on the mast, the throat is heavier anyways, so the temptation to pull peak first might be tempting but it should be resisted. My experience is from working on 100+ ton clippers with heavy steel spars so your mileage may differ on a small boat with light wooden spars though.
Awesome Kevin….. thanks
Thanks Stott, good to hear from you.
Well done!
Thanks for the video, Kevin! And, yes, do rig that topsail some day and show us. I've had mine in storage for the first two years of owning the ship. Only recently I've come to appreciate its usefulness in light air.
Hello from Montreal. I discovered your channel because of that "outdated" video some years agos. This new version is awasome! As an happy owner of a small gaff cutter (CC 24 MKII)(one and half season and my first boat) I really look forward for a video about the top sail handling. There is almost nothing on the subject over RUclips so it will really be popular I think. My goal this summer is to rig and use my jackyard top sail. We always see the gaffer with the top sail up in video but almost never how they rig it, lift it and trim it.
I got the book "Classic Boat Seamanship" from Martin Tregoning as reference for those small gaffer like mine but still a video of the quality like this one would be gold for new gaffer's owners. As alway, thanks for sharing your experience and make us dream.
Good to hear. Looks like I'll have to get to work on the topsail vid, it's getting lots of requests here. Fair winds.
Thanks. This is the kind of video that got me to your channel. I like all your videos, but I confess that I like the “technical” ones best.
Great video Kevin
Excellent overview of the gaff rig and its history. I'm never going to fly a topsail on my small, gaff-rigged catboat, but I would love to see a video of how you'd do it on Ruth Avery.
While I have sailed sloops and ketches, I've not sailed a gaff rigged boat
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing the tales of your high seas adventure. This essay on the gaff rig is interesting, and it also informs a better understanding of what we see as we watch you sail.
Damn. One of your best videos yet! Nice 😎
Terrific update Kevin. I have the exact same jackyard topsail on my Cornish Crabber and I couldn't have put it better myself. It's a thing to behold and it turns heads, but oh what a lot of trouble getting it up and getting it down. I see now how you rig your topping lift so thank you for the close-up on that.
Thank you for your insight and examples of your lovely vessel. I thoroughly enjoyed your video and learned a fair bit. I have always enjoyed your engineless adventures, and love to see you work to windward and sail oceans.
Excellent, very clear and easy to understand. Liked and subbed.
Really well put together Kevin!
👍from an alu gaffers
its true and we love the view on the horizon of gaffers and all the different top sails with there own shapes and colors
Falmouth workboats are a nice example.
Our boat is not the fastest but fun to play with and not smal and single handed is an good option .the only sail what is giving us now an dan problems is the furling jib.😉
Beautiful.....
I Pole Sailed once for 12 hours .
I was Surprised how fast she sailed .
Thanks Kevin. Great story and video.
The best argument I have seen for the gaff rig is the Haitian sloop. I seems to get along fine with branches for spars and sewn together rags for sails.
It's amazing what some of those old sticks and string craft can do ..
Great video!! Surprised you did not mention the new gaff sails as used on Wharram catamarans,since there are thausands of them sailing up to63 feet in length. With the luffsleve around themast Wharram really improved the performance and durability is definitely proven with many ocean crossings today.
Excellent content on the gaff rigg! I’m building a second rigg right now for my double ender lugg sail.
Keep it up!
Outstanding episode Kevin. I'd like to see a working topsail.
You should most definitely take out the top sail and rig it! it would help all of us to visualize it your simple, simple explanations make it special !keep educating us :-)
Thanks for these instructional videos on the gaff rig and how to single-hand one, without an engine even. I guess one extra thing contributing to the gaffers poorer upwind performance is the lower tension on the forestays. Can you affect that by tightening the running backstay with a winch while pointing into the wind in a tack? Also how far aft should you have to running backstays? I guess that's a balancing act between how much they are in the way and how well they stay the mast?
Correct. Yes, I take the tails to the runners around the genoa winch and can get the headstays reasonably tight for windward work.
well said
Captain, I think this most informative video is among your very best work! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute!🙏💪❤️👊😎
Brilliant video!!
July 2003 sailed into st george with an alberg 30 without fuel and reefed. great episode! thank you for sharing! ~__/)__*
Good on ya. Alberg 30's sail well indeed.
From one old gaffer to another, excellent entry as always...if you dont hace the old spars for the topsail let me know Kevin...got plenty of old growth doug fir to make it happen.
Nice video Kevin...Christ it almost looks like fun!
Love your gaff!
Thanks great video
Well done Kevin. I always learn something new watching your videos. This time i learned a lot.
Salt & Tar home built wooden Gaff rigged full keel ketch
A great 101 Introduction to Gaff Rigging! I can see the advantages with it especially with the use of “off the self” gear to make it all work as opposed the the specialized gear I sometimes need for my Bermuda rigged Ericson 32-3 that you can see on my RUclips channel. However, I sail the Chesapeake Bay which requires much more frequent tacking or jibing along with sail adjustments but you know that, Kevin. So I’m guessing that a gaff rigged boat is easier to use on ocean crossings then coastal cruising but that’s just a guess on my part. 😁
Correct. Bermuda rigged production boats like the Ericson will generally be better suited for sailing in constricted waterways and for day sailing.
@@howtosailoceans1423 I often get unsolicited comments from persons walking down the dock on how beautiful our Ericson 32-3 is because she has beautiful lines, but your gaff rigged Gilmer 31 has me beat by a mile. 🙂
Absolutely brilliant episode. I truly love your way of life and your channel & follow you religiously but this episode could’ve been on the Discovery channel etc.
Although the little dig to us Bermuda rigged sailors regarding sailing in/out of the town cut in said Bermuda is more down to having an engine & that convenience than the type of boat, but I get your point.
Thanks for sharing captain ⚓️⛵️👍
Warren s/y Legend
Thanks Warren! Yes, the point there was despite having many more conveniences and the superior windward performance of the bermudan rig, the only boats I've seen tacking in through the Town Cut are gaffers.