Sail slot in the gaff (Gunter rig?)

Submitted by Michiganmirror on Sun, 10/09/2016 - 00:09

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I am repairing a 1975 Mirror. In looking at the gaff, there is a slot underneat for the bolt rope in the luff of the sail. The gaff appears to be in two halves held together in the middle (at the haylard attachment) and at the outer end (small circular metal washer). The gaff actually separates at the yoke (mast attachment) end and the overall slot is too loose to hold the bolt rope effectively. My question: Are the two halves of the gaff supposed to be glued together so as not to open? Should the mast end open so far that the wooden dowels come out of their slots? Is the gaff supposed to be in two halves (why is it designed this way)? How should I correct this (screw the two halves together?). Thanks!

62816inBerlin's picture

62816inBerlin

Sun, 10/09/2016 - 14:04

The gaffs are glued together as it's the easiest way of producing the slot for the sail. Imagine trying to mill a straight slot with a circular wider section in a solid piece of wood!
Whoever manufactured your gaff probably used an inferior adhesive to glue the halves together.
My gaff started separating at the top end some years ago too and I simply glued it together with thickened epoxy, clamping it securely until the epoxy set.
To make sure the sail will slide easily, just make sure to pull a rag (easiest with it wrapped around a rope) through the "keep" slot before the epoxy sets.
At this year's European championships, I was recently impressed to see Martin Egan's racing rig for which he has shaved the gaff to a fine airfoil shape. He was out in quite strong winds and competes among the front-runners who all sail the "one-piece" Bermuda masts nowadays. So there is a lot of safety margin in the original, thicker gaff. I also remember that wooden Finn-dinghy masts were the non-plus-ultra in that class for a long time.
Cheers and greetings from the Baltic coast!
Gernot H.

Michiganmirror

Sun, 10/09/2016 - 16:37

Gernot - Thanks for the information. It is what I suspected, so I guess I won't be sailing today as planned. You explained the reason for the two-part gaff really well - it makes sense now. My Mirror is over 40 years old so she may be due for a good gluing. Thanks again for the great answer. - Mike (Michigan, USA)