Gunter mast attachment point

soapysails's picture
Submitted by soapysails on Wed, 01/29/2014 - 23:54

Forums:

This may seem obvious to some, but for the life of me, I can't find a good picture of, nor have I been able to read on how to properly attach the sliding Gunter fork to the mast.. I'm of Italian heritage, so pictures would be most helpful...lol

62816inBerlin's picture

62816inBerlin

Thu, 01/30/2014 - 13:33

Puffin's arrangement is probably standard, with two triangular plywood cheeks that form the gaff "jaws". These each have a hole at the tip. I simply have a piece of lanyard tied to one and lace this loosely through the other one to hold the jaws on the mast when the gaff is down (first and second picture). When the mainsail is raised and the halyard attachment shackle is tight against the sheave in the masthead, the lanyard has no function as the gaff is pulled tightly against the mast anyway (third picture).

Sails all the way down:

Half-way up (furled for a nap at anchor):

and all the way up:

Some people use a rubber shock cord with a toggle at one end and slot one of the plywood "cheeks" so that they can simply catch the shock cord in it, I believe. However I don't really see why a 10-second advantage in rigging time should warrant me spending maybe an hour or more alteration work time ;-{) .

Cheers
Gernot H.

soapysails's picture

soapysails

Mon, 02/10/2014 - 21:45

Hi Gunter.. sorry for the long delay. computer on the frits. lol
Thanks for the excellent pictures. It is indeed a simple matter. At least now I can be sure.
BTW, enjoyed the "Kick Back" Shot. That's the way to enjoy the boat.

beermatt's picture

beermatt

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 14:01

Nice clear instructions. I remember puzzling over the "correct" way to do it for quite some time when I was new to the Mirror!

Personally I switched to a shock chord rather than regular rope, I've found the elasticity makes it less prone to getting stuck on the way up and down. Also if you accidentally fasten it too tight on the way up, when you drop the gaff it doesn't put as much pressure on the mast etc.