[Tom3]

I have a 32'' LOW Eastport Pinky gaff rigged. Her main is 548-sqr foot main; the boom is 29 feet long. Some one has the same boat for sail as a ketch, if you want to see pictures go here: http://www.thisoldwoodenboat.com/pictures.htm I don''t know this person at all, just posting the link so you can see where I am coming from.

I am to write this as a reply to Jeff since he covered a lot of ground in his post.

I agree that gaff can by dynamic but I think the proper sail trim issue is true for all boats all the time. I regularly sail past boats with Bermuda rig and bad sail trim. Also the time your gaff rig was designed is very important. Eastport pinkies are an 1850s design, long boom, long gaff and the effect Jeff mentions is there. A lot of newer gaff rig designs have shorter boom and gaff and the effect is less pronounced. Mike Kasten discusses this with drawings at http://www.kastenmarine.com/gaff_rig.htm .

On the question of big crews to sail can raise my sail alone, the sails on your schooner are likely a little smaller. I doubt you need large crew but you do need halyards that run free in the blocks. I find that my halyards and sheets have expanded a bit over time and that can make the job more difficult due to unwanted friction with the blocks. I am replacing them this year. I think this is really important, you should not be losing much mechanical advantage due to friction, if you are something is wrong.

On the question of expense I am not sure I agree with Jeff, I think you need to do some close analysis to be sure. Gaff rigs have bigger more expensive sails but use fewer or no big expensive winches. You can use triple braided line which is less expensive and your spars are often less expensive as well. Ted Brewer seems to think gaff rig is less expensive http://www.boatus.com/goodoldboat/foreaftrig.htm but I am not sure he is right either, I bet it depends a lot on your boat. On the question of chafe you do need to guard against it, John Leather''s book talks about that as well.

On the question of when is a rig best, running, reaching, or beating gaff is better than Marconi on a reach, and a bit better on a run. Gaff is not better than a spinnaker on a run, but a lugsail is, and a crab claw rig is better than Bermuda all round though it loses to lug under some circumstances. If you’re curious lateen is the least efficient rig. I get this information from Marchaj, he wrote a great book on the subject.

Jeff goes on to say that gaff rigs are fun to mess with but a poor choice for voyaging. I have not voyaged but I have read a number of authors who have sailed both and advocate the gaff rig for voyages. Their arguments have a set of common themes:

Easier to repair and maintain because of simpler parts (no winches).

More flexible sail configurations, though this is only really true of split rigs like the schooner, and cutters.

Lower aspect means more comfortable sailing, less crew fatigue and a nicer atmosphere on board. I think of this as a big plus on a long trip.

Jeff also discusses hull form efficiency and that leads to a question: efficient for what? When people say a hull is efficient they often means it sails a triangular course really well. Australian skiff racing hulls are very efficient, they reach plaining speed rapidly and fly along, winning races and making for a very exciting sport. But I would not voyage in one. My 9-ton sloop with a huge cockpit is very comfortable and is near perfectly efficient for entertaining friends. But its relatively low reserve stability and large cockpit make it a danger in a mid Atlantic storm, I would not voyage with it either.

Boats are designed with a purpose and they tend to be efficient at that purpose and less efficient at things they were not designed for. The schooner you’re looking at should be evaluated with this in mind.

Claude Worth also took up the question of the popularity of schooner, but he did it in 1920 and was thinking about the popularity of schooner rig on the east coast of the USA and cutter rig in the UK. He said it was a question of the prevailing winds in the two areas. British sailors were often beating to windward because of the prevailing winds. Americans often had onshore and offshore breezes that gave an advantage to a rig that was better on a reach because they would be sailing parallel to the coast.

There is a lot to think about when you’re looking at gaff Vs. Bermuda and even more to think about when you add split rigs to the equation. But the homework is a lot of fun and it’s worth it in the end.