Great video. I agree with all of your points. I think the gaff rig is the best cruising rig. I know many people who sail a Bermuda rigged cruising boat and never sail to windward except when racing, so why have a rig that’s design primarily for that function. Some points I would like to add are that I think the gaff rig is safer than the Bermuda rig because it can naturally handle a gust better. A Bermuda rig has the top of the mast directly connected to the boom which is then directly connected through the main sheet to the hull. If a strong gust comes up and the crew is not actively easing the sheets the boat must heel to spill the excess wind, but a gaff rig can twist its gaff which will spill most of the excess allowing the boat to heel less. As far as windward ability goes I read an article many years ago about a guy that experimented on a dingy between a Bermuda and a gaff rig and he found that as long as the aspect ratio ( the ratio of the height vs the width) of the sail was the same he found no difference in windward angle. Since most classic boats have the older low aspect ratio type of sail it’s not much wonder that they didn’t go as well to windward as tall Bermuda rigs. I currently sail a James Wharram Pali 26 with a Tiki rig (boomless gaff rig). He calls it a soft wing sail as the leach if the sail is wrapped around the mast . It is more aerodynamic than a Bermuda rig and provides more drive per square meter than one as well allowing a smaller safer sail to do the same job. The sail has only a sheet a Cunningham and two halyards, no vangs or tensioners, it’s so easy to handle. Thanks for the video keep up the good work.
Excellent points. The only drawback is overhauling the exisitng system on most sailboats is a major expense. Garry Hoyt invented a much simpler and elegant solution: Hoyt Offset Rig, which is a new take on a gaff rig, details at his website: garryhoyt.com/id19.html
@@The-Travel-Man Uhh.. that's basically a balanced lug, nothing new about that except the "gaff" or "lug" is paralell to the boom. The only new feature here is the "offset arm" shifting the entire sail away from the mast to reduce wind interference (which is something only a racer would do as it's really not needed otherwise)
Hi James, thank you for sharing your thoughts which I find very interesting. A gentle note if I may. I think you meant luff rather than leech when mentioning your soft wing sail, right? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.
How about a series showing actual "how to" hands on sailing of a gaff rig? I think it would be very interesting to see everything explained as it's being done. Thanks for the great video.
Just the look and feel of our rig makes me feel very good. Deep red sails, lush varnished spars, and rope everywhere. In a nice wind with the sun out, especially if its behind the sail, I'll spend way too much time just looking up at the rig. It all adds up to a feeling of solidity, warmth and deep tradition. Sitting on a modern white tub in comparision feels hard, harsh and not at all pleasant.
John Welsford tested his Penguin design with both gaff and marconi sails, so he was able to compare them on the same hull. What he found was that they pointed up into the wind pretty much the same, but the marconi rig was faster on that point of sail. However, one every other point of sail the gaff rig was faster.
I agree gaffers are a pleasure for sailhandling because there isn't anything to jam really (apart from the rare occasion when the topsail halyard jumps off its block). For raising sail the freedom of being able to stay on course is nice but it's even better for when you have to take in that 3rd reef in a force 6-8. Good luck doing that with a bermudan sail that runs in a luffgroove, might be ok with the luff attached to travelers running in a track. I'm not sure how modern rollerfurling bermudan mainsails handle that but I supposed anyone that wants to pay for a rotating mast could make it easier for themselves.
@@Flakzor123 I have a boat with an in-mast furling system. It jams the whole time and is dangerous. I will junk it at the first opportunity. Fortunately it appears that it is an add-on and can be unscrewed without discarding the mast which is not always the case I have been told.
Advantage 1: You can hoist an ensign higher up on the leech without it getting caught in the rigging. Advantage 2: Having the spar aloft opens the possibility of a soft bottom mainsail - which is much safer for cruising.
Learning to sal a gaff-rigged cat-yawl that built myself. (A Phil Bolger Chebacco) It is a very different rig. Different nuances and behaviors. Pros and cons. SO far, so good.
I own 34' cold molded Angleman gaff rig.I love the mizzen sail.When leaving a crowded anch. luff main & jib back wind the mizzen to spin 90 degrees instantly.With peak(for gaff)halyard released the main drops super fast(laced luff line)or scandalize the main by dropping the gaff only letting wind out of main.Must use gaff vang to hold head of main on center.I use one line from block at top of mizzen.Saili g with mizzen & genoa only is easy sailing without heeling.Stay sail on mizzen can be used.An extra mast is not that much more expensive ,with modern materials(marine) .
Consider doing a video on Junk Rigs too. ⛵️ Roger Taylor has sailed five times past the Arctic Circle from the UK in a modern engineless Junk Rig which has many common advantages with the Gaff Rig. Similarly the “How to Sail Oceans” channel has sailed extensively in an engineless Gaff Rig. 😎
Thanks for the video, I sail and race a farr 11.6 , it's fast goes 15 degrees to the wind and you still get 6 knots . However I have sailed many times on gaffers they're beautiful and forgiving , they run down wind very well and are comfortable.
Thanks - great video. I had never heard of 'modern' gaff rigs before, with shorter gaffs. The gaff rigged boat I sailed, like the Cornish Shrimper you sailed, have a high peaked gaff which has the advantage of creating a taller luff which improves windward performance. I have sailed both Marconi and Gaffs. For short handed sailing I found the Marconi easier for larger sail areas. My next boat will be a high peaked gaff. I am looking at 16' - 18' LWL. They are a total joy to sail... Forgiving might be a good word here.
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If you are still looking, I might be selling my Cornish Crabber 17, gaff rigged, build 2014. I bought it in 2021, first owner hardly used it, but I've put it in the water for a month or two every year. Will send you pics if interested and ship it back to Ispwich if you are located in UK.
Your post led me to watch the video again. It is very excellent. An enjoyable watch too. 👍 Some of my most enjoyable sailing has been on Gunter rigged boats. The Crabber with its high pointing gaff is referred to as Gunter here.
The advantages you talk about is why many of the last commercial, oceangoing sailing ships were gaff-rigged schooners. They can also be made to perform better in windward conditions. If you had many masts (one schooner had at seven masts) and a large sail area, attaching mechanical drive was easy, and the staffing requirements were always lower with a gaff rig vs. other designs of the day, and their maneuverability was superlative. (It may have also been easier to find sailors willing to work on them as they did not require climbing the masts, even those without labor saving devices.) They had decent windward performance, though not quite as good as a square rigged ship, and they had so many advantages that they were the ship of choice for transporting cargo on a sailing ship.
I met a fellow who had a 23 ft gaff rigged sloop. It was very old. He raced a guy who had a Marconi rig. He said he usually beat him. His speed downwind made up for his not so great speed upwind. The guy with the Marcoi rig did finally beat him, but only after using his spinnaker. The gaff rig was used for racing in the early decades of the 20th century. The reason was because the canvas sail clothe stretched. And by manipulating the peak halyard, one could make up for that. Egyptian cotton changed that. It had far less stretch. And once in common use in the racing fleets, the Bermudan (often called the Marconi rig) took over. The biggest down side of the gaff rig is that it needs running back stays to get proper tension on the fore stay to get the jib to set better. The Marconi rig can get by with a standing back stay. It's relative easy to make an inexpensive Marconi rig, if you are not intent on having a tall one. George Buehler designed a ton of them. The one advantage of a gaff rig that rarely gets mentioned, is that, as the sail is reefed, its Center of Effort (CE) doesn't move forward like that of a Marconi sail does. Also, a gaff sail can quickly dump about half its sail area by dropping the peak. This can be done while the other half of the sail is still driving the boat. Great for getting caught in a sudden squall.
This is purely for an academic discussion. I favor tried and tested conventions to novel approaches for actual implementation. I favor the gaff rig only because long masts scare me due to the long heeling moments and heavier ballasted or deeper keels required to offset those. I favor multiple smaller masts to one tall mast. The gaff can do that with a smaller mast that has even better efficiency for leeward sailing than a taller Bermuda rig. I favor the ketch configuration to the schooner configuration for greater windward efficiency. One can unfurl numerous head sails for better leeward efficiency. Although for better weight distribution across a twin-masted boat, it would be ideal to have two masts of equal height, provided the airflow for the 2nd mast isn't too diminished by the 1st mast, but one would still need a manageable sail for a storm, since storm sails can't be readily manipulated, so I wonder if a mizzen(smaller second mast) would still be preferable? One could still fly head sails even between the masts if the spacing was adequate, for leeward efficiency, but you'd still have a heavier mast in the fore-deck, so if you're going from a crest into a trough in a very heavy sea, it could still create problems. I would prefer a winged lifting keel for variable draft, but only if the wings wouldn't be likely to get knocked by ice, etc. to impair stability(the keel would lift in ice, but the fins/wings could still get knocked). A ballasted lifting keel would be prone to failure, but with sets of short masts and a long ballasted keel, the boat should rollover and right. I know a gaff rig because of its low-aspect wouldn't be as good as the Berumuda rig, but the lugger would only be worse and also create a greater heeling moment. The Lateen has too many redundant masts. The Aero Rig would again require a tall mast for the same sail area, so I wonder what other options one could contemplate? A blend comprising of one Bermuda and one Gaff mast would, again, be only counterproductive. I wonder if a cutter gaff ketch(for longer boats and a gaff mainsail with a Bermuda yawl sail for smaller ones) would be a good option, but then with the weight of the masts towards the stern, the bow would lift,when sailing windward, so that would have to be balanced with a disproportionate ballast or keel?
The very popular Mirror sight of the 60's and 70's that are still made today has a Gunter rig. I've sailed these things on and off for 45 years. The one my dad made and I learnt on still exists. Not a full gaff rig I know but easy and as you said "soft" to handle. Forgiving and unstressed. Compared to my Fireball...that is a beast. Look at modern Bermuda yachts and dinghies flying square top mains like windsurf sails. Why? Because the fully battened square top flexes off in gusts, spilling wind. Like a gaff rig does naturally. I think that's what the "soft" means
considering a gaff rig? is there a dominant pattern to the winds in the area the vessel will work? We have northerlies. and offshore in the a.m.; southerly and onshore in the p.m. much of our work is east and west. Next ,the hull: what kinds of cargo are carried? Freight? Fish? Passengers? Cargo suggests beamy.well-rounded bilges. There are other considerations but this is a start.
Pilot cutters were the racing yachts of the day if you look at S/Y Elley Grey she has wooden booms but Alloy Gaffs and the top sail is roller furling from the Gaff both head sails are electric easy to handle rig also the standing rigging is Galvernised wire .
I've always been a huge Gaff-Rig fan... As for not doin' well, to windward, I reckon that Captain Angus Walters'd have a few things to say about that... When fitted with a Tops'l the Gaff-Rig has all the advantages o' a Bermuda Rig, as well as all the advantages o' the Gaff!
Yes I can see where you are coming from as I was first Mate on a 45 m tall ship. If we wanted to go to wind more we had the advantage put put down the Centre boards.
I know I'm years late but have you done or have someone you have seen do a comparison of what rigs do better assuming a specific wind direction vs the compass rose? IE square is great down wind vs Bermuda is great up wind. Assuming the wind is directly from the east who is the best in each direction? Ok maybe I mean efficiency but maybe both.
My question mainly concerns small craft/dinghys approximately 12’ - 16’. On a dingy of this size a gaff rig sometimes uses a boom sometimes not. Why do we not see this variation with triangular/bermuda sails? That is to say why not a bermuda rigged dinghy without a boom. Thank you for the time you take to create these videos, they are extremely useful.
When sails are large, it is very hard to flatten the mainsail in a strong wind without a boom. It would require a huge amount of sheet tension. What you may see though is a loose footed main, where only the outhaul is attached to the boom.
I love gaff rig, but on long down wind passages, its a nightmare of chafe with the belly of the sail against the shrouds. That is when cross cut sails fail at every seam. If that wasn't bad enough, the gaff goes so far forward of abeam, that it sets up a lever using the shrouds as a fulcrum. The entire length of the gaff wrenches the jaws or saddle agains the mast, often resulting in a broken gaff. No, a vang does not improve the situation. Every time the ship rolls to windward, the slack drops loop around random objects and then tries to garot them on the next roll.
I have never actually sailed a gaff, but I have a lot of experience with a bermudian, which I am tired of. the bermudian is good to windward, that's it's one trick. but it's tiresome downwind. firstly it has a big jib, but that is now shadowed by the main, so people end up sailing with the main dropped, slowly! I prefer to pole out the jib but that requires some mild gymnastics on the foredeck. Of course the pole is a hazard if the wind picks up. To sail fast downwind with a bermudian you need a spinnaker, which is just a whole lot of trouble. If it's going just right they are great, but they flog really badly, or worse twist around the forestay, when they fill they snap a huge strain on to the boat. Some people have them in a sock which is meant to make it simpler to get down but it also adds another two lines to the mast head that can get tangled so it's only simpler if you do everything right. Instead, on a gaff rig you just have a really big main sail, and optional top sail. (top sail is probably tricky I don't know, probably not as bad as a spinnaker) I read in an old sailing book that gaff is recommended for beginner sailors because you can rapidly reduce sail while going down wind by "scandalizing the main". Say you are sailing downwind and a squall hits, on a bermudian you'd have to turn up and reef, but on a gaff you can just release the peak halyard, so the gaff drops, which folds away the top corner of the sail, reducing sail area to maybe a half? (less on your modern type) after the squall you just raise the peak again.
I'm considering building a 37' Kahuna Nui that offers either a gaff or marconi rigging. I'm 51 y/o now It'll take me a few years to build as I plan on sailing her back and forth annually from the East Coast of Canada to the Caribbean. Keeping in mind that I'll only be getting older as I plan to spend my senior years doin this trip. If any of you were in my shoes and were to choose, which one would you and why? Thanks.
Ive been crewing on 30-35 ft sloops off and on for a few years and am now looking at buying a boat. Ive found an acceptable boat but its gaff rigged.. it didnt stop me from making an offer on the boat but i am concerned about upwind performance
This may be a silly question but like you I am drawn to gaff rig boats. I recently bought a Bristol19 which has a fractional sloop rig. Is it possible to modify the rig that comes with a boat as in what would it take to switch rigs to gaff? Possible at all?
What I see is the rigging slipped out of the hands of the sailors when the standing rigging went from rope to steel. No longer could the mast be fastened with local goods and time honored techniques, the ships rigging had to be purchased. Also I see the amount of sail being lowered and spread fore and aft. This lowered the center of effort which can limit the amount of heel for more comfortable experience. Perhaps it time for a Frankenstein rig where let the technologies and techniques blend to the advantage of the crew and ship owner. Modern composite hulls with gaff rigs with the mechanical advantages and so on. Those extremely heavy wooded mast could be replaced with modern materials which certainly limit the weight aloft which is a serious design concern. Only the Dutch have ventured to sea with Leeboards. A bilge ballasted beach-able boat could be the ultimate shoal draft adventure machine. A maximum width trailer able boat with Leeboards could be your ticket to sail all if your country's lakes and canals. So a mix of old and new is maybe what we need. Pay the fare with sweat equity in the garages of the creative. Who knows what will be next?
Michael Kasten he is awesome as well as George Buehler. Here is my view I like gaffs but they are behind the mast so in turbulence. The solution is to get off the mast ie the dipping lug. Next I think you are Dutch the Dutch are geniuses they created the most beautiful boat ever the LEMSTERAAK. The best boat for me would be a dipping lug schooner lemsteraak. By the way keels are a really stupid idea (leeboards). Go for it.
This gaff schooner ' Wanderbird' went through Cape Horn against the wind. Some articles suggest that it didn't have an engine installed at the time, so I wonder what sail plan would have withstood those winds? I personally can't imagine a yacht going against the wind through Cape Horn without an engine. ua-cam.com/video/WKS-bGcoZW4/v-deo.html
great video, but one reason people could be "affraid" of this rig, might be it's similarity to the JUNK rig, and, having only seen this in a video recently ( junk rig association), the Parrels system of holding the battens to the mast looks way above the skill level than a "marconi" rig, or the Sloop rig, as most of us "newbies" know them by; as A halyard, sheet, cunningham & outhaul are by far simpler design than the junk, with 10 or more lines to know and use to trim the rig. so having VIDEO'S to show us, and demystify what is going on, especially in a visual way, takes away confusion and also if these rigs are around, have the owner community available to lend these boats to schools to show students how these rigs work, and give them confidence in handling them.
Hi. Gaff rigged boats don't have battens, at least not fully across from the mast to the leech. The mainsail is all aft of the mast, and the Parrels are strung like beads on a zigzag line which holds the luff in place to the mast. The parrels are there to ease friction when hoisting or lowering the mainsail. A junk rig, or more correctly, the "fully battened lugsail" is not like a gaff sail because it suspends from a "yard", technically a spar which lies across a mast, and thus a portion of this sail is in front of the mast. And the junk mast has no standing rigging, just a beefy mast stepped in the keelson. Gaff and lug rig are different. Nick
The easiest answer is 'approximately'. A downhaul will tension the leech and depending on that tension there will be more or less line up between the gaff and the boom. The sails leach tension does the aligning. So we are talking about managing sail twist (tuning) here. Of course not all gaff rigged boats have a downhaul.
@@kevinu.k.7042 ok I am finding it head to understand what you are saying, we used a van line to move the gaff to where you want it . But keep in mind I was first off officer on a45 m three master Tallship . Maybe different on a small yacht.
I recently acquired a dinghy that has a top spar which is really long and actually meets with the end of the lower spar/boom shortly in front of the mast. I was looking for sailing tips on it but I don't even know what the rig is called lol. Help?
More info if interested... it's mast is only like 10% back from the bow and its rigged almost like a latean(or however you spell it) but with a lower spar or boom added as an after thought...
Now i see how the gaff rig is awesome ,i will make this type of sail for my pound model sailing boat with heavy full keel surely it will work ,just give a try🤔😄
I think the triangular Bermudan sail is ugly. I converted my dinghy to gaff, and the yard is fairly short and so is easier than a Gunter to raise. But the modern very short gaff is also ugly in my opinion!
I agree, I like the gaff look better too. The older rigs look better! It's quite striking, a gaff rig with a topsail, one of the most beautiful rigs I think.
You’ve missed a couple of important points. Aerodynamically the gaff rig is more efficient than the Bermuda rig when off the wind. An aspect ratio of 1:1 being most efficient ( Marchaj). For long distance cruising sailors who spend most of their time off the wind this is important. The perfection of the cruising spinnaker goes a long way towards negating this advantage. The first advocate for the short gaff (as far as I know) was Percy Dalton who was a proponent in the 60s as a naval architect living in Cornwall. Modern square top Bermudan rigs are desperately trying to emulate this type of sail. The Cornish Crabber can hardly be called an antique if you’re referring to the plastic series production boat. John Leather was a proponent of modern efficient gaff rigs long before the gentleman you mentioned was probably alive. For all you said about the inability of a gaff rig going to windward, if you’d done your research you would know that a well designed, well sailed gaff rigged boat will go to windward at least as well as many production plastic boats and will absolutely kill them off the wind. I’ve done it for years. Not entirely sure how reading one article and spending one week on a relatively inefficient gaff rig boat would qualify you to make a video but I guess that’s the joy of UA-cam.
You’ve missed a couple of important points. Aerodynamically the gaff rig is more efficient than the Bermuda rig when off the wind. An aspect ratio of 1:1 being most efficient ( Marchaj). For long distance cruising sailors who spend most of their time off the wind this is important. The perfection of the cruising spinnaker goes a long way towards negating this advantage. The first advocate for the short gaff (as far as I know) was Percy Dalton who was a proponent in the 60s as a naval architect living in Cornwall. Modern square top Bermudan rigs are desperately trying to emulate this type of sail. The Cornish Crabber can hardly be called an antique if you’re referring to the plastic series production boat. John Leather was a proponent of modern efficient gaff rigs long before the gentleman you mentioned was probably alive. For all you said about the inability of a gaff rig going to windward, if you’d done your research you would know that a well designed, well sailed gaff rigged boat will go to windward at least as well as many production plastic boats and will absolutely kill them off the wind. I’ve done it for years. Nhat’s the joy of UA-cam.
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Great video. I agree with all of your points. I think the gaff rig is the best cruising rig. I know many people who sail a Bermuda rigged cruising boat and never sail to windward except when racing, so why have a rig that’s design primarily for that function. Some points I would like to add are that I think the gaff rig is safer than the Bermuda rig because it can naturally handle a gust better. A Bermuda rig has the top of the mast directly connected to the boom which is then directly connected through the main sheet to the hull. If a strong gust comes up and the crew is not actively easing the sheets the boat must heel to spill the excess wind, but a gaff rig can twist its gaff which will spill most of the excess allowing the boat to heel less. As far as windward ability goes I read an article many years ago about a guy that experimented on a dingy between a Bermuda and a gaff rig and he found that as long as the aspect ratio ( the ratio of the height vs the width) of the sail was the same he found no difference in windward angle. Since most classic boats have the older low aspect ratio type of sail it’s not much wonder that they didn’t go as well to windward as tall Bermuda rigs. I currently sail a James Wharram Pali 26 with a Tiki rig (boomless gaff rig). He calls it a soft wing sail as the leach if the sail is wrapped around the mast . It is more aerodynamic than a Bermuda rig and provides more drive per square meter than one as well allowing a smaller safer sail to do the same job. The sail has only a sheet a Cunningham and two halyards, no vangs or tensioners, it’s so easy to handle. Thanks for the video keep up the good work.
Good informative post...
Excellent points. The only drawback is overhauling the exisitng system on most sailboats is a major expense. Garry Hoyt invented a much simpler and elegant solution: Hoyt Offset Rig, which is a new take on a gaff rig, details at his website: garryhoyt.com/id19.html
@@The-Travel-Man Uhh.. that's basically a balanced lug, nothing new about that except the "gaff" or "lug" is paralell to the boom. The only new feature here is the "offset arm" shifting the entire sail away from the mast to reduce wind interference (which is something only a racer would do as it's really not needed otherwise)
Hi James, thank you for sharing your thoughts which I find very interesting. A gentle note if I may. I think you meant luff rather than leech when mentioning your soft wing sail, right? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.
How about a series showing actual "how to" hands on sailing of a gaff rig? I think it would be very interesting to see everything explained as it's being done. Thanks for the great video.
Yes that would be great, I'm waiting for the season to start again and will try to make it happen
@@ImproveSailing Did you ever make this?!
Your accent makes me believe everything you say about sailing ⛵️ 🤣😎👍
Hahahaha this made me lol
😂🤣🤔👏😀😂
i loved this. i've almost only ever owned gaff rigged vessels. this guy is clear and level-headed and has a sense of humor. all the best.
another advantage of the gaff rig is how quick and easy it is to reduce sail when needed in a hurry
Its...scandalous...:-)
Just the look and feel of our rig makes me feel very good. Deep red sails, lush varnished spars, and rope everywhere. In a nice wind with the sun out, especially if its behind the sail, I'll spend way too much time just looking up at the rig. It all adds up to a feeling of solidity, warmth and deep tradition. Sitting on a modern white tub in comparision feels hard, harsh and not at all pleasant.
Got my sub and a like when you mentioned old Mercedes cars. 240d w123 forever!
Hey great video mate - I have a sloop rigged gaff dinghy, and do agree. I find it somewhat comparable to torque vs horsepower.
John Welsford tested his Penguin design with both gaff and marconi sails, so he was able to compare them on the same hull. What he found was that they pointed up into the wind pretty much the same, but the marconi rig was faster on that point of sail. However, one every other point of sail the gaff rig was faster.
That's really interesting. I wouldn't have thought the gaff would beat the marconi.
I'm not talking from my own experience, mind, but that's what Welsford reported.
Leaves out one of the main advantages that you can raise it on any point of sail . You do not have to be pointing into the wind like a Bermudan.
Valid point, thanks for mentioning it.
I agree gaffers are a pleasure for sailhandling because there isn't anything to jam really (apart from the rare occasion when the topsail halyard jumps off its block). For raising sail the freedom of being able to stay on course is nice but it's even better for when you have to take in that 3rd reef in a force 6-8. Good luck doing that with a bermudan sail that runs in a luffgroove, might be ok with the luff attached to travelers running in a track. I'm not sure how modern rollerfurling bermudan mainsails handle that but I supposed anyone that wants to pay for a rotating mast could make it easier for themselves.
@@Flakzor123 I have a boat with an in-mast furling system. It jams the whole time and is dangerous. I will junk it at the first opportunity. Fortunately it appears that it is an add-on and can be unscrewed without discarding the mast which is not always the case I have been told.
If you look at fast ocean racing yatchs, you see Bermuda rigs, often with battens holding the upper part of the luff, much like a gaff!
Battens.
@johnstarkie9948 thanks, corrected.
As a hipster who loves an old mechanical typewriter and craft beer and Mumford and Sons, I love the look of a gaff rig.
Advantage 1: You can hoist an ensign higher up on the leech without it getting caught in the rigging.
Advantage 2: Having the spar aloft opens the possibility of a soft bottom mainsail - which is much safer for cruising.
Learning to sal a gaff-rigged cat-yawl that built myself. (A Phil Bolger Chebacco) It is a very different rig. Different nuances and behaviors. Pros and cons. SO far, so good.
I own 34' cold molded Angleman gaff rig.I love the mizzen sail.When leaving a crowded anch. luff main & jib back wind the mizzen to spin 90 degrees instantly.With peak(for gaff)halyard released the main drops super fast(laced luff line)or scandalize the main by dropping the gaff only letting wind out of main.Must use gaff vang to hold head of main on center.I use one line from block at top of mizzen.Saili g with mizzen & genoa only is easy sailing without heeling.Stay sail on mizzen can be used.An extra mast is not that much more expensive ,with modern materials(marine) .
Consider doing a video on Junk Rigs too. ⛵️ Roger Taylor has sailed five times past the Arctic Circle from the UK in a modern engineless Junk Rig which has many common advantages with the Gaff Rig. Similarly the “How to Sail Oceans” channel has sailed extensively in an engineless Gaff Rig. 😎
Thanks for the video, I sail and race a farr 11.6 , it's fast goes 15 degrees to the wind and you still get 6 knots . However I have sailed many times on gaffers they're beautiful and forgiving , they run down wind very well and are comfortable.
Thanks - great video. I had never heard of 'modern' gaff rigs before, with shorter gaffs. The gaff rigged boat I sailed, like the Cornish Shrimper you sailed, have a high peaked gaff which has the advantage of creating a taller luff which improves windward performance. I have sailed both Marconi and Gaffs. For short handed sailing I found the Marconi easier for larger sail areas. My next boat will be a high peaked gaff. I am looking at 16' - 18' LWL. They are a total joy to sail... Forgiving might be a good word here.
If you are still looking, I might be selling my Cornish Crabber 17, gaff rigged, build 2014. I bought it in 2021, first owner hardly used it, but I've put it in the water for a month or two every year. Will send you pics if interested and ship it back to Ispwich if you are located in UK.
Thanks Jens - I'm no longer in the market. Wishing you a good sale.
Your post led me to watch the video again. It is very excellent. An enjoyable watch too. 👍
Some of my most enjoyable sailing has been on Gunter rigged boats. The Crabber with its high pointing gaff is referred to as Gunter here.
The advantages you talk about is why many of the last commercial, oceangoing sailing ships were gaff-rigged schooners. They can also be made to perform better in windward conditions. If you had many masts (one schooner had at seven masts) and a large sail area, attaching mechanical drive was easy, and the staffing requirements were always lower with a gaff rig vs. other designs of the day, and their maneuverability was superlative. (It may have also been easier to find sailors willing to work on them as they did not require climbing the masts, even those without labor saving devices.) They had decent windward performance, though not quite as good as a square rigged ship, and they had so many advantages that they were the ship of choice for transporting cargo on a sailing ship.
I met a fellow who had a 23 ft gaff rigged sloop. It was very old. He raced a guy who had a Marconi rig. He said he usually beat him. His speed downwind made up for his not so great speed upwind. The guy with the Marcoi rig did finally beat him, but only after using his spinnaker.
The gaff rig was used for racing in the early decades of the 20th century. The reason was because the canvas sail clothe stretched. And by manipulating the peak halyard, one could make up for that. Egyptian cotton changed that. It had far less stretch. And once in common use in the racing fleets, the Bermudan (often called the Marconi rig) took over.
The biggest down side of the gaff rig is that it needs running back stays to get proper tension on the fore stay to get the jib to set better. The Marconi rig can get by with a standing back stay.
It's relative easy to make an inexpensive Marconi rig, if you are not intent on having a tall one. George Buehler designed a ton of them.
The one advantage of a gaff rig that rarely gets mentioned, is that, as the sail is reefed, its Center of Effort (CE) doesn't move forward like that of a Marconi sail does.
Also, a gaff sail can quickly dump about half its sail area by dropping the peak. This can be done while the other half of the sail is still driving the boat. Great for getting caught in a sudden squall.
This is purely for an academic discussion. I favor tried and tested conventions to novel approaches for actual implementation.
I favor the gaff rig only because long masts scare me due to the long heeling moments and heavier ballasted or deeper keels required to offset those.
I favor multiple smaller masts to one tall mast. The gaff can do that with a smaller mast that has even better efficiency for leeward sailing than a taller Bermuda rig.
I favor the ketch configuration to the schooner configuration for greater windward efficiency. One can unfurl numerous head sails for better leeward efficiency.
Although for better weight distribution across a twin-masted boat, it would be ideal to have two masts of equal height, provided the airflow for the 2nd mast isn't too diminished by the 1st mast, but one would still need a manageable sail for a storm, since storm sails can't be readily manipulated, so I wonder if a mizzen(smaller second mast) would still be preferable? One could still fly head sails even between the masts if the spacing was adequate, for leeward efficiency, but you'd still have a heavier mast in the fore-deck, so if you're going from a crest into a trough in a very heavy sea, it could still create problems.
I would prefer a winged lifting keel for variable draft, but only if the wings wouldn't be likely to get knocked by ice, etc. to impair stability(the keel would lift in ice, but the fins/wings could still get knocked).
A ballasted lifting keel would be prone to failure, but with sets of short masts and a long ballasted keel, the boat should rollover and right.
I know a gaff rig because of its low-aspect wouldn't be as good as the Berumuda rig, but the lugger would only be worse and also create a greater heeling moment. The Lateen has too many redundant masts. The Aero Rig would again require a tall mast for the same sail area, so I wonder what other options one could contemplate? A blend comprising of one Bermuda and one Gaff mast would, again, be only counterproductive.
I wonder if a cutter gaff ketch(for longer boats and a gaff mainsail with a Bermuda yawl sail for smaller ones) would be a good option, but then with the weight of the masts towards the stern, the bow would lift,when sailing windward, so that would have to be balanced with a disproportionate ballast or keel?
Great video! Also, thanks for that link to Kasten Marine. That was an informative read.
You should see me, I look even more " Old Fashion ", and yes, the gaff rig is also my favorite one !
The very popular Mirror sight of the 60's and 70's that are still made today has a Gunter rig. I've sailed these things on and off for 45 years. The one my dad made and I learnt on still exists. Not a full gaff rig I know but easy and as you said "soft" to handle. Forgiving and unstressed. Compared to my Fireball...that is a beast.
Look at modern Bermuda yachts and dinghies flying square top mains like windsurf sails. Why? Because the fully battened square top flexes off in gusts, spilling wind. Like a gaff rig does naturally. I think that's what the "soft" means
Thanks Andrew, great info and cool that your dad built one himself, that's quite an achievement...
You can talk about heaving-to. It’s more comfortable and easier to heave-to because the CP drops straight down.
Yes - but what's the CP?
Center of Pressure (center of lateral resistance).
@@richardcranium8408 Will look into it, didn't know that. Thanks Andrew.
Enjoyable, informative -- thanks!
Welcome, and I appreciate the comment.
considering a gaff rig? is there a dominant pattern to the winds in the area the vessel will work? We have northerlies. and offshore in the a.m.; southerly and onshore in the p.m. much of our work is east and west. Next ,the hull: what kinds of cargo are carried? Freight? Fish? Passengers? Cargo suggests beamy.well-rounded bilges. There are other considerations but this is a start.
You're the man. BTW, in English variant is pronounced "VAIR-ee-ent."
Pilot cutters were the racing yachts of the day if you look at S/Y Elley Grey she has wooden booms but Alloy Gaffs and the top sail is roller furling from the Gaff both head sails are electric easy to handle rig also the standing rigging is Galvernised wire .
One major advantage: scandalizing the rig when hit by a squall. Just drop the peak halyard!
Could you tell us exactly the differences between classic and short gaff rig?
Thank you in advance
Federico
I'll look into it and have added it to my video suggestion list. Thanks Federico
you can overcome the close-hauled disadvantage by running a topsail if needed.
I've always been a huge Gaff-Rig fan... As for not doin' well, to windward, I reckon that Captain Angus Walters'd have a few things to say about that... When fitted with a Tops'l the Gaff-Rig has all the advantages o' a Bermuda Rig, as well as all the advantages o' the Gaff!
Yes I can see where you are coming from as I was first Mate on a 45 m tall ship. If we wanted to go to wind more we had the advantage put put down the Centre boards.
How does gaff compare to lugsail?
I know I'm years late but have you done or have someone you have seen do a comparison of what rigs do better assuming a specific wind direction vs the compass rose? IE square is great down wind vs Bermuda is great up wind. Assuming the wind is directly from the east who is the best in each direction? Ok maybe I mean efficiency but maybe both.
go the gafff action... super good
My question mainly concerns small craft/dinghys approximately 12’ - 16’. On a dingy of this size a gaff rig sometimes uses a boom sometimes not. Why do we not see this variation with triangular/bermuda sails? That is to say why not a bermuda rigged dinghy without a boom.
Thank you for the time you take to create these videos, they are extremely useful.
When sails are large, it is very hard to flatten the mainsail in a strong wind without a boom. It would require a huge amount of sheet tension. What you may see though is a loose footed main, where only the outhaul is attached to the boom.
@@vjp46n4
Thank David for replying. I appreciate the knowledge. 🙏
So I’m also a bit of a romantic and I may even like the look of a lanteen sail more. So what about a gaff vs lanteen comparison? I’d love that
What do you think about a mil. surp. parachute from the anchor rig ? Way up there with a small parachute. Hopefully in the trade winds .
I love gaff rig, but on long down wind passages, its a nightmare of chafe with the belly of the sail against the shrouds. That is when cross cut sails fail at every seam. If that wasn't bad enough, the gaff goes so far forward of abeam, that it sets up a lever using the shrouds as a fulcrum. The entire length of the gaff wrenches the jaws or saddle agains the mast, often resulting in a broken gaff. No, a vang does not improve the situation. Every time the ship rolls to windward, the slack drops loop around random objects and then tries to garot them on the next roll.
I have never actually sailed a gaff, but I have a lot of experience with a bermudian, which I am tired of.
the bermudian is good to windward, that's it's one trick. but it's tiresome downwind. firstly it has a big jib, but that is now shadowed by the main, so people end up sailing with the main dropped, slowly! I prefer to pole out the jib but that requires some mild gymnastics on the foredeck. Of course the pole is a hazard if the wind picks up. To sail fast downwind with a bermudian you need a spinnaker, which is just a whole lot of trouble. If it's going just right they are great, but they flog really badly, or worse twist around the forestay, when they fill they snap a huge strain on to the boat. Some people have them in a sock which is meant to make it simpler to get down but it also adds another two lines to the mast head that can get tangled so it's only simpler if you do everything right. Instead, on a gaff rig you just have a really big main sail, and optional top sail. (top sail is probably tricky I don't know, probably not as bad as a spinnaker)
I read in an old sailing book that gaff is recommended for beginner sailors because you can rapidly reduce sail while going down wind by "scandalizing the main". Say you are sailing downwind and a squall hits, on a bermudian you'd have to turn up and reef, but on a gaff you can just release the peak halyard, so the gaff drops, which folds away the top corner of the sail, reducing sail area to maybe a half? (less on your modern type) after the squall you just raise the peak again.
I'm considering building a 37' Kahuna Nui that offers either a gaff or marconi rigging. I'm 51 y/o now It'll take me a few years to build as I plan on sailing her back and forth annually from the East Coast of Canada to the Caribbean. Keeping in mind that I'll only be getting older as I plan to spend my senior years doin this trip. If any of you were in my shoes and were to choose, which one would you and why? Thanks.
Marconi, I have sailed tall ships and yacht and a Marconi is a lot easier to handle by for.
@@CaptMarkSVAlcina Thank you for the reply
Ive been crewing on 30-35 ft sloops off and on for a few years and am now looking at buying a boat. Ive found an acceptable boat but its gaff rigged.. it didnt stop me from making an offer on the boat but i am concerned about upwind performance
You should be in Sydney with all us convicts
This may be a silly question but like you I am drawn to gaff rig boats. I recently bought a Bristol19 which has a fractional sloop rig. Is it possible to modify the rig that comes with a boat as in what would it take to switch rigs to gaff? Possible at all?
What I see is the rigging slipped out of the hands of the sailors when the standing rigging went from rope to steel. No longer could the mast be fastened with local goods and time honored techniques, the ships rigging had to be purchased. Also I see the amount of sail being lowered and spread fore and aft. This lowered the center of effort which can limit the amount of heel for more comfortable experience. Perhaps it time for a Frankenstein rig where let the technologies and techniques blend to the advantage of the crew and ship owner. Modern composite hulls with gaff rigs with the mechanical advantages and so on. Those extremely heavy wooded mast could be replaced with modern materials which certainly limit the weight aloft which is a serious design concern. Only the Dutch have ventured to sea with Leeboards. A bilge ballasted beach-able boat could be the ultimate shoal draft adventure machine. A maximum width trailer able boat with Leeboards could be your ticket to sail all if your country's lakes and canals. So a mix of old and new is maybe what we need. Pay the fare with sweat equity in the garages of the creative. Who knows what will be next?
I also like to carry a topsail and the very short yard is not so good for this.
What about the new style junk rigs?
They go upwind better than a gaffer , and anything behind beam on , they just fly , relentlessly.
But they can be very hard to produce to the standards needed to achieve that performance. A gaff rig is easier to produce.
There is a reason we see so many Wharrams with a Gaff rig.
How does a modern gaff rig go for a solo sailor?
Michael Kasten he is awesome as well as George Buehler. Here is my view I like gaffs but they are behind the mast so in turbulence. The solution is to get off the mast ie the dipping lug. Next I think you are Dutch the Dutch are geniuses they created the most beautiful boat ever the LEMSTERAAK.
The best boat for me would be a dipping lug schooner lemsteraak.
By the way keels are a really stupid idea (leeboards). Go for it.
Up with non triangle sails
Does the Gaff rig need a top-sail?
Pete Goss new boat is a gaff rig. If it's good enough for a legend like Pete it's good enough for anyone
A topsail combined with a Gaff essentially acts like a Marconi rig.
This gaff schooner ' Wanderbird' went through Cape Horn against the wind. Some articles suggest that it didn't have an engine installed at the time, so I wonder what sail plan would have withstood those winds? I personally can't imagine a yacht going against the wind through Cape Horn without an engine.
ua-cam.com/video/WKS-bGcoZW4/v-deo.html
great video, but one reason people could be "affraid" of this rig, might be it's similarity to the JUNK rig, and, having only seen this in a video recently ( junk rig association), the Parrels system of holding the battens to the mast looks way above the skill level than a "marconi" rig, or the Sloop rig, as most of us "newbies" know them by; as A halyard, sheet, cunningham & outhaul are by far simpler design than the junk, with 10 or more lines to know and use to trim the rig. so having VIDEO'S to show us, and demystify what is going on, especially in a visual way, takes away confusion and also if these rigs are around, have the owner community available to lend these boats to schools to show students how these rigs work, and give them confidence in handling them.
Hi.
Gaff rigged boats don't have battens, at least not fully across from the mast to the leech. The mainsail is all aft of the mast, and the Parrels are strung like beads on a zigzag line which holds the luff in place to the mast. The parrels are there to ease friction when hoisting or lowering the mainsail. A junk rig, or more correctly, the "fully battened lugsail" is not like a gaff sail because it suspends from a "yard", technically a spar which lies across a mast, and thus a portion of this sail is in front of the mast. And the junk mast has no standing rigging, just a beefy mast stepped in the keelson.
Gaff and lug rig are different.
Nick
Tell us about short mast long boom sail
how does it compare to the junk rig?
Hi friend.
How does the gaff line up with the boom?
The easiest answer is 'approximately'. A downhaul will tension the leech and depending on that tension there will be more or less line up between the gaff and the boom. The sails leach tension does the aligning. So we are talking about managing sail twist (tuning) here. Of course not all gaff rigged boats have a downhaul.
@@kevinu.k.7042 ok I am finding it head to understand what you are saying, we used a van line to move the gaff to where you want it . But keep in mind I was first off officer on a45 m three master Tallship . Maybe different on a small yacht.
I recently acquired a dinghy that has a top spar which is really long and actually meets with the end of the lower spar/boom shortly in front of the mast. I was looking for sailing tips on it but I don't even know what the rig is called lol. Help?
More info if interested... it's mast is only like 10% back from the bow and its rigged almost like a latean(or however you spell it) but with a lower spar or boom added as an after thought...
I think thats a lateen..
5:16 center of gravity ----> I think you mean pressure center
He is talking about the weight og the mast being lower, I think, and that is a factor.
How about a Gunter rig?
All the advantages of a gaff rig but points better.
I've wondered about the Gunter rig in comparison.
Now i see how the gaff rig is awesome ,i will make this type of sail for my pound model sailing boat with heavy full keel surely it will work ,just give a try🤔😄
Gaff vs cat?
Cats can be gaff, gunter, or Marconi.
The sail is a low aspect
I think the triangular Bermudan sail is ugly. I converted my dinghy to gaff, and the yard is fairly short and so is easier than a Gunter to raise. But the modern very short gaff is also ugly in my opinion!
I agree, I like the gaff look better too. The older rigs look better! It's quite striking, a gaff rig with a topsail, one of the most beautiful rigs I think.
ALL TALK
not for singlehanders
As you can see by my pennant at 2:36 I can point VERY high
ua-cam.com/video/2gmeOoT6Ay4/v-deo.html
Not one diagram to illustrate your arguments, otherwise good
Goe gezegd
Way to much talking not enough info bro. Nice Beard
awefully lot of "hint hint" winking. can't tell if your letting me on on a secret or lying. your not flirting with me are you? 🤔
You’ve missed a couple of important points. Aerodynamically the gaff rig is more efficient than the Bermuda rig when off the wind. An aspect ratio of 1:1 being most efficient ( Marchaj). For long distance cruising sailors who spend most of their time off the wind this is important. The perfection of the cruising spinnaker goes a long way towards negating this advantage. The first advocate for the short gaff (as far as I know) was Percy Dalton who was a proponent in the 60s as a naval architect living in Cornwall. Modern square top Bermudan rigs are desperately trying to emulate this type of sail. The Cornish Crabber can hardly be called an antique if you’re referring to the plastic series production boat. John Leather was a proponent of modern efficient gaff rigs long before the gentleman you mentioned was probably alive. For all you said about the inability of a gaff rig going to windward, if you’d done your research you would know that a well designed, well sailed gaff rigged boat will go to windward at least as well as many production plastic boats and will absolutely kill them off the wind. I’ve done it for years. Not entirely sure how reading one article and spending one week on a relatively inefficient gaff rig boat would qualify you to make a video but I guess that’s the joy of UA-cam.
No audio?
I can get audio, I have had a few videos that didn't have audio in the last week so maybe its a new bug
I can hear myself just fine! So I don't know what you mean ...
Man, you’re really bad at this!
Total BS
Without an explanation. Your post becomes total BS
Hi Greg, thanks for your contribution
Just have a look on our youtube oldgaffers fore ever !!!!
You’ve missed a couple of important points. Aerodynamically the gaff rig is more efficient than the Bermuda rig when off the wind. An aspect ratio of 1:1 being most efficient ( Marchaj). For long distance cruising sailors who spend most of their time off the wind this is important. The perfection of the cruising spinnaker goes a long way towards negating this advantage. The first advocate for the short gaff (as far as I know) was Percy Dalton who was a proponent in the 60s as a naval architect living in Cornwall. Modern square top Bermudan rigs are desperately trying to emulate this type of sail. The Cornish Crabber can hardly be called an antique if you’re referring to the plastic series production boat. John Leather was a proponent of modern efficient gaff rigs long before the gentleman you mentioned was probably alive. For all you said about the inability of a gaff rig going to windward, if you’d done your research you would know that a well designed, well sailed gaff rigged boat will go to windward at least as well as many production plastic boats and will absolutely kill them off the wind. I’ve done it for years. Nhat’s the joy of UA-cam.
Thanks for explaining in detail. I'm learning as I go and appreciate anyone more knowledgeable sharing their insight.