As an artist I've always been fascinated by anything related to ships and sailing, and your instruction gives me an amazing insight into how some basics work and how those components on a boat are called (because when I read these things in novels or reports many things are just not so clear). Also, I find it hilarious how your dog takes interest in your sailor's routine. Thank you for this amazing video, good sir.
At last!! Someone who knows how to hoist a gaff correctly! Peak well up before hauling on the throat. I've been setting much heavier gaff rigs than this for over 40 years, Brixham trawlers, Baltic traders and full rigged ships and one day watching school kids really struggle to set the main on Jolie Brise I tried to tell their teacher that it would make it much less work on the throat if the spar was up at an angle rather than horizontal/drooping slightly. He wouldn't listen, he's been "doing it that way for 20 years....." you know the sort! To ALL those who think a gaff has to be hoisted horizontally, WATCH THIS VIDEO and learn!!
just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks. I've been sailing for 53 years but only the last 15 or so with gaff [small 24 footer] and I have been hoisting the gaff horizontally. Will try it the 'proper' way next time.The other thing I learnt was how to make the halyard off after coiling. I've always just taken the bight through the coil,twisted it and then onto the cleat.Something else to try next time! great video thanks
Hi Matt. I have always wanted to see a gaff rigger get its sails up, from the deck. I see many gaff rigs being hoisted from a distance but it was fascinating to have it explained, you do it very well. I was going to mention the locking turns you use on the halyards and ask you why. But just as I was writing and watching the end of the video, you explained some of your reasoning. I was once teaching a crew for DS. We had an American student with us who was already a sailor of sorts. On mooring the boat and preparing for a F 10 gale that evening, we made fast, doubling lines etc. Long story, but there came a moment when we needed to let some of those lines go. The locking turn our American student had put on was impossible to release without the use of a marlin spike. In this instance, the use of a locking turn was not needed and became a hazard. The other OXOs on other cleats had held perfectly well and were much easier to untie. 2 things I ban on any boat I skipper, locking turns on cleats and poncey rope cheese coils on the deck or worse still, on the pontoon where they become mats to clean your shoes on and trip hazards. I would love to sail a gaff where it is mostly your own physical effort that makes it all work and you must feel more in contact with the boat, water and wind. It was nice to swing the lap with you for a while.
Outstanding Gaff instruction, thorough and detailed, including other hoist options. I'm sure Tom Cunliffe would absolutely agree. Brilliant, many thanks.
Matt, you're a bloody natural. Sailor, obviously. We all know that. What this film shows is how natural a teacher you are too. Wish I'd had someone like you to learn from when I was young. If ever you and Paige were to take an apprentice on Morna I would envy them their experience and education. Good work, mate!
i guess im asking the wrong place but does anyone know a tool to get back into an instagram account? I stupidly forgot my login password. I would love any assistance you can offer me!
@Kaiden Dax i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
You make it look so easy! I love the look of a gaff rigged boat, but there are so many lines!!!!!! I will definitely look into gaff rigged boats further. Thanks for posting!
Very Nice video, fantastic boat. My envy circuits are on overload. I learned to sail on gaff rigged cutter about a million years ago and I really miss that elegant simplicity.
What a cool boat! I really enjoyed learning about your gaff rig. (My first sailboat was a 12 foot gaff rigged wooden catboat.). Thanks for the great video.
Hi, love the vids. If you get a chance change the throat to a double block on the gaff and a double with becket on the crane and you will only have a single fall to haul on, enabling you to hoist throat and peak together without stopping to change sides, this is also very handy if you are sailing on off moorings or anchors and in tight confines because you can also drop it controlled very quickly. If your boom is light and doesn't tighten the luff enough you can rig a small tackle to tension it down. As in another comment, hoist the main with the gaff horizontal or lower than the throat this does make it much easier to hoist. You refer to problems with the gaff saddle, these can capsize or trip. Our gaff saddle is a snug fit and the parrel beads are tied quite close and dont let the saddle move to far away from the mast, we had lots of problems with "off the shelf" saddles because they had room between them and the mast and the tapered ends starting about half the diameter of the mast. Because of the inherent design of the rig the gaff is always to leeward with twist from the sail acting on the gaff, we found that with the loose tapered saddles this could capsize when tacking or gybeing. Our saddle was fabricated to suit and is snug and the top and bottom edges of the saddle are straight until past the diameter of the mast.
Bertie Bert , I see some one knows what they are talking about. I was first officer on a tall ship for 9 years and now looking at buy one about 60/70 feet long
For sailors who love gaff rigs, this is as good an introduction as one could wish for. The only comment I have is that sail ties on a traditional vessel are typically called gaskets. I know because I got yelled at - on a gaff schooner - for using the wrong, sloop, terminology
The real joy is these systems don't need a lot of attention. They came from working boats. The crews did not have all day to continually trim and adjust sails.
Hello again. If you find windward work a problem due to the mizzen mast bending aft when you sheet in hard then a solution is to rig a running forestay, just don't forget to unhook it when tacking! I rigged one on the Danish ketch Anna Moller and the skipper told me it made the world of difference, she has no engine so relies even more so on her sailing ability. Talking of wiring shackles, I didn't comment on it previously, watch that capsized shackle on the throat block! The pin needs to go through the eyebolt.
Very good ... professor Mathew... seriously, as a land lubber, I understood a lot of what you were talking about...2 questions if I may...1- given that all the rope is exposed to the elements + the amount of use whilst sailing in a good breeze, what is the time frame of quality of the rope before age ,wear and tear Sets in ? 2- same question for the sails... do they have to be cleaned after or during sailing ? I enjoyed this video a great deal, thank you Mathew !!
The sails and ropes will last over 10years if looked after. They both made from man made materials and just made to look like the original. Some ropes will get more ware then others mainly my main sheet on Morna so that might need replacing in a few years but I'd expect everything else to last well over 10.
Loved this video!! I've just been reading Hand, Reef and Steer these past couple weeks and it's awesome to see what I've been reading about! It makes me want a gaff-rigged boat even more!
I also read the book and for me when we got sailing it finally made all the info in to book click as I got to see it in practice. I must say the book is worth the read.
Had this question a few times and for me it's just the romance of it. I've heard people say they do it because the gaff sails better in heavy weather ect but tbh there's plastic boats that can do that fine and for me owning an old gaffer is the love of the look of her and having a one of a kind just a bonus they sail very well.
Been sailing gaffs for some time. Don't send the peak much higher than the throat when hoisting, it pushes the gaff towards the mast and puts more friction on the throat. May not be noticable too much now, but on a 134 m2 gaff sail it does, as personal experience has taught me. (Believe on Mariquita they put 4 hands on the peak and 18 on the throat.) For the throat hallyard, just see how much purchase you need, so that both of you can do it. You also don't want too much purchase or it will take ages to hoist and that's even more tiresome. Having the other end of the halyard on the other side on a 3 to 1 purchase is noce for final tightening. Peak is usually not such an issue, generally less purchase than the throat. Also the other end of the halyard on 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 purchase is nice so you can harden the sail when turning into the wind (or when the wind picks up) or loosen it when you veer off and need a fuller sail (and get rid of the crease). Love seeing that lovely boat in that fantastic scenery.
Great Video Matt and Paige . What design is the Boat ? It’s a beautiful example of fine Boat building. Just great stuff keeping these skills alive for another generation. Thankyou
I always enjoy your tutorial type videos, and this one was the best yet!!! I always wondered how a gaff rig worked and now I know! However, I'm still a bit fuzzy on your double halyard main for the throat though. I don't quite get how you can pull the port halyard taut, then use the starboard halyard to continue raising the throat since the port halyard is fixed. Thinking it might be some sort of Matt Magic.... ;-D
Haha it's hard to explain really i might be able to draw a picture and post it up on Facebook to help explain, but it did confuse me for a few days when I was rigging it.
Isn’t the double halyard on the main because: Larger sail means heavier load, to reduce the load use a 2:1 block, 2:1 block means you a have to take in twice as much line, twice the line means you run out of room to move the block on one side, so repeat for the other side.
More of this! And how does the mizzen sail affect sailing? Have heard really old time fishermen talking about countering the heeling with the mizzen before taking in reefs in the main sail.
It's hard to tell for me tbh at the moment this is the first ketch i have sailed and the first gaff so I'm not sure if the better balance is fro the fact she's got a long keel and deep fore foot or that the ketch makes a lot of difference. I'd like to sail a ketch bermudan or a Gaff cutter so I can get a feel for them.
Thank you so much, Matt. You have such a lovely strong vessel. I love everything about it. In fact, this is the third time I am viewing your excellent video. I was actually inspired by you to learn more about gaff rig by buying a copy of Hand, Reef and Steer after viewing your video the first time. One burning question though... why is the throat halyard designed in two stages - on the port and starboard side of the main mast? Or did I perceived the hoisting system wrongly all together?
Glad you enjoyed it. Close hauled is when you are sailing as close to the wind as possible and beam reach is when your off the wind by about 90° if your interested I can do a video on it over winter.
This is great ... I have recently got involved with Brixham Trawler Provident, your rig is very similar, so very useful to hone up on sail management of gaff rigs, which I'm new to. Cheers, Gavin
We are currently living in one of the harbouside houses over looking the marina, so we are always around :D give us a message when you are around next 😁
A couple of small pointers. To get the final diagonal crease correct from peak to tack the topping lifts and sheets need to be slack (Martin Tregoning explains that crease very well) and I'd like to see some seizing wire on those shackles especially the ones that go aloft! In my opinion there is only one book for everything to do with gaff rig, Classic Boat Seamanship by Martin Tregoning, too many basic errors in all the other popular books I've seen, some authors even get it wrong in their videos and on television.
I sail traditional working craft. We have several differences in rigging,and, the way we hoist. That's not unusual. Different areas have their own systems. Not all boats are the same.
We will be back once the winter season in Scotland is over. If we can get out before then for a few days we would love to :D it's been a f9/10 recently 😣
You're a natural born teacher. Well done mate!
Traditional gear is such a joy, so easy to see understand and see how it works.
As an artist I've always been fascinated by anything related to ships and sailing, and your instruction gives me an amazing insight into how some basics work and how those components on a boat are called (because when I read these things in novels or reports many things are just not so clear). Also, I find it hilarious how your dog takes interest in your sailor's routine. Thank you for this amazing video, good sir.
Couldn't agree more!
At last!! Someone who knows how to hoist a gaff correctly! Peak well up before hauling on the throat. I've been setting much heavier gaff rigs than this for over 40 years, Brixham trawlers, Baltic traders and full rigged ships and one day watching school kids really struggle to set the main on Jolie Brise I tried to tell their teacher that it would make it much less work on the throat if the spar was up at an angle rather than horizontal/drooping slightly. He wouldn't listen, he's been "doing it that way for 20 years....." you know the sort! To ALL those who think a gaff has to be hoisted horizontally, WATCH THIS VIDEO and learn!!
just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks. I've been sailing for 53 years but only the last 15 or so with gaff [small 24 footer] and I have been hoisting the gaff horizontally. Will try it the 'proper' way next time.The other thing I learnt was how to make the halyard off after coiling. I've always just taken the bight through the coil,twisted it and then onto the cleat.Something else to try next time! great video thanks
Hi Matt. I have always wanted to see a gaff rigger get its sails up, from the deck. I see many gaff rigs being hoisted from a distance but it was fascinating to have it explained, you do it very well. I was going to mention the locking turns you use on the halyards and ask you why. But just as I was writing and watching the end of the video, you explained some of your reasoning. I was once teaching a crew for DS. We had an American student with us who was already a sailor of sorts. On mooring the boat and preparing for a F 10 gale that evening, we made fast, doubling lines etc. Long story, but there came a moment when we needed to let some of those lines go. The locking turn our American student had put on was impossible to release without the use of a marlin spike. In this instance, the use of a locking turn was not needed and became a hazard. The other OXOs on other cleats had held perfectly well and were much easier to untie. 2 things I ban on any boat I skipper, locking turns on cleats and poncey rope cheese coils on the deck or worse still, on the pontoon where they become mats to clean your shoes on and trip hazards. I would love to sail a gaff where it is mostly your own physical effort that makes it all work and you must feel more in contact with the boat, water and wind. It was nice to swing the lap with you for a while.
Outstanding Gaff instruction, thorough and detailed, including other hoist options. I'm sure Tom Cunliffe would absolutely agree. Brilliant, many thanks.
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing your beautiful boat!
Matt, you're a bloody natural. Sailor, obviously. We all know that. What this film shows is how natural a teacher you are too. Wish I'd had someone like you to learn from when I was young. If ever you and Paige were to take an apprentice on Morna I would envy them their experience and education. Good work, mate!
i guess im asking the wrong place but does anyone know a tool to get back into an instagram account?
I stupidly forgot my login password. I would love any assistance you can offer me!
@Allen Gustavo instablaster ;)
@Kaiden Dax i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now.
Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Kaiden Dax It worked and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thank you so much you really help me out :D
@Allen Gustavo no problem =)
You make it look so easy! I love the look of a gaff rigged boat, but there are so many lines!!!!!! I will definitely look into gaff rigged boats further. Thanks for posting!
There are a lot of lines but you get used to them and tbh it all becomes clear after a few days, apart from the amount of lines it's all quite simple.
Very Nice video, fantastic boat. My envy circuits are on overload. I learned to sail on gaff rigged cutter about a million years ago and I really miss that elegant simplicity.
What a cool boat! I really enjoyed learning about your gaff rig. (My first sailboat was a 12 foot gaff rigged wooden catboat.). Thanks for the great video.
Hi, love the vids.
If you get a chance change the throat to a double block on the gaff and a double with becket on the crane and you will only have a single fall to haul on, enabling you to hoist throat and peak together without stopping to change sides, this is also very handy if you are sailing on off moorings or anchors and in tight confines because you can also drop it controlled very quickly. If your boom is light and doesn't tighten the luff enough you can rig a small tackle to tension it down.
As in another comment, hoist the main with the gaff horizontal or lower than the throat this does make it much easier to hoist.
You refer to problems with the gaff saddle, these can capsize or trip. Our gaff saddle is a snug fit and the parrel beads are tied quite close and dont let the saddle move to far away from the mast, we had lots of problems with "off the shelf" saddles because they had room between them and the mast and the tapered ends starting about half the diameter of the mast. Because of the inherent design of the rig the gaff is always to leeward with twist from the sail acting on the gaff, we found that with the loose tapered saddles this could capsize when tacking or gybeing. Our saddle was fabricated to suit and is snug and the top and bottom edges of the saddle are straight until past the diameter of the mast.
Bertie Bert , I see some one knows what they are talking about. I was first officer on a tall ship for 9 years and now looking at buy one about 60/70 feet long
For sailors who love gaff rigs, this is as good an introduction as one could wish for. The only comment I have is that sail ties on a traditional vessel are typically called gaskets. I know because I got yelled at - on a gaff schooner - for using the wrong, sloop, terminology
This is an excellent video. I found other videos online but none of them explained it as well as yours.
Outstanding walkthru! Mate you are truly a sailor! Beautiful layout of the lines and halyards!
great video and very well explained. I have a small spritsail boat. I love the simplicity and strength of the gaff rig on your boat. Thank you
Really good video. Nice and chilled. Beautiful looking gaff. Have read Tom's book and it's great to see it done in practice. Keen to learn more.
Very in depth and very informative 👌 thanks for explaining
superb post fella , i did wonder whats involved and can see the interest in an older rig.
The real joy is these systems don't need a lot of attention. They came from working boats. The crews did not have all day to continually trim and adjust sails.
Fredrick is right the rig is very forgiving
That is very beautiful sailcloth.
Nice boat. Good and clear explanations. Keep it up.
Great gaff rig demo. 'Thanks!
Now I want a t-shirt that says “Tight enough for a gaff”.
Beautiful gaffer! Wish we had more of these in Canada!
Hello again. If you find windward work a problem due to the mizzen mast bending aft when you sheet in hard then a solution is to rig a running forestay, just don't forget to unhook it when tacking! I rigged one on the Danish ketch Anna Moller and the skipper told me it made the world of difference, she has no engine so relies even more so on her sailing ability.
Talking of wiring shackles, I didn't comment on it previously, watch that capsized shackle on the throat block! The pin needs to go through the eyebolt.
Thanks mate. that was an awesome lesson that I can apply to my wee Shearwater gaffer (Oughtred lapstrake) 12 footer.
Great review of the Gaff rigging. Nice Drathaar as well
Very good ... professor Mathew... seriously, as a land lubber, I understood a lot of what you were talking about...2 questions if I may...1- given that all the rope is exposed to the elements + the amount of use whilst sailing in a good breeze, what is the time frame of quality of the rope before age ,wear and tear
Sets in ?
2- same question for the sails... do they have to be cleaned after or during sailing ?
I enjoyed this video a great deal, thank you Mathew !!
The sails and ropes will last over 10years if looked after. They both made from man made materials and just made to look like the original. Some ropes will get more ware then others mainly my main sheet on Morna so that might need replacing in a few years but I'd expect everything else to last well over 10.
There are no "ropes" on a boat save one. They are all "lines" except "the bell rope." Love that old boat. Many thanks for the video.
Loved this video!! I've just been reading Hand, Reef and Steer these past couple weeks and it's awesome to see what I've been reading about! It makes me want a gaff-rigged boat even more!
I also read the book and for me when we got sailing it finally made all the info in to book click as I got to see it in practice. I must say the book is worth the read.
Great presentation I like that there isn’t really anything to break at least not anything that wouldn’t take much to fix👍👍
That is one of the best features, everything is easy to fix or find ways to work around if needed.
I mean this sincerely, thank you for caring for this classic ship. How and or why do you go through such pain of varnish and classic rigging.
Had this question a few times and for me it's just the romance of it. I've heard people say they do it because the gaff sails better in heavy weather ect but tbh there's plastic boats that can do that fine and for me owning an old gaffer is the love of the look of her and having a one of a kind just a bonus they sail very well.
I have missed you all so often..if you come to Monterey county in Cali..let me tour your around..my best 2 you🎈
Your turning in to the new Tom! Excellent video! Propper stuff. Ant, Cid & the pooch crew. xx
I hope his sights are set a lot higher than Tom, he gets SO much wrong!
Gorgeous day! :) Thanks for sharing!
Many thanks to you and Mrs. !
What a beautiful video!
Very good video . Wish there were more second hand gaffers available, they really get to you in a way that a bermudan riggerd boat doesn`t .
Been sailing gaffs for some time. Don't send the peak much higher than the throat when hoisting, it pushes the gaff towards the mast and puts more friction on the throat. May not be noticable too much now, but on a 134 m2 gaff sail it does, as personal experience has taught me. (Believe on Mariquita they put 4 hands on the peak and 18 on the throat.)
For the throat hallyard, just see how much purchase you need, so that both of you can do it. You also don't want too much purchase or it will take ages to hoist and that's even more tiresome.
Having the other end of the halyard on the other side on a 3 to 1 purchase is noce for final tightening.
Peak is usually not such an issue, generally less purchase than the throat.
Also the other end of the halyard on 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 purchase is nice so you can harden the sail when turning into the wind (or when the wind picks up) or loosen it when you veer off and need a fuller sail (and get rid of the crease).
Love seeing that lovely boat in that fantastic scenery.
Beautiful boat.
Really missing your videos guys, how are you? How is the refit going. Please come back to us.
You are a true sailor mate !
Brilliant video!!Thank you!
Great Video Matt and Paige . What design is the Boat ? It’s a beautiful example of fine Boat building. Just great stuff keeping these skills alive for another generation. Thankyou
I always enjoy your tutorial type videos, and this one was the best yet!!! I always wondered how a gaff rig worked and now I know! However, I'm still a bit fuzzy on your double halyard main for the throat though. I don't quite get how you can pull the port halyard taut, then use the starboard halyard to continue raising the throat since the port halyard is fixed. Thinking it might be some sort of Matt Magic.... ;-D
Haha it's hard to explain really i might be able to draw a picture and post it up on Facebook to help explain, but it did confuse me for a few days when I was rigging it.
@@LivingWithTheTide Please post that drawing, as I have tried to research this and have draw a blank. Excellent video.
Isn’t the double halyard on the main because: Larger sail means heavier load, to reduce the load use a 2:1 block, 2:1 block means you a have to take in twice as much line, twice the line means you run out of room to move the block on one side, so repeat for the other side.
More of this! And how does the mizzen sail affect sailing? Have heard really old time fishermen talking about countering the heeling with the mizzen before taking in reefs in the main sail.
It's hard to tell for me tbh at the moment this is the first ketch i have sailed and the first gaff so I'm not sure if the better balance is fro the fact she's got a long keel and deep fore foot or that the ketch makes a lot of difference. I'd like to sail a ketch bermudan or a Gaff cutter so I can get a feel for them.
Thank you so much, Matt. You have such a lovely strong vessel. I love everything about it. In fact, this is the third time I am viewing your excellent video. I was actually inspired by you to learn more about gaff rig by buying a copy of Hand, Reef and Steer after viewing your video the first time. One burning question though... why is the throat halyard designed in two stages - on the port and starboard side of the main mast? Or did I perceived the hoisting system wrongly all together?
one word, EXCELLENT
Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.
Great explanation of how the sails work ! Could you explain close hull and beam reach
Glad you enjoyed it. Close hauled is when you are sailing as close to the wind as possible and beam reach is when your off the wind by about 90° if your interested I can do a video on it over winter.
@@LivingWithTheTide that would be great
Love the furry supervisor 😍
This is great ... I have recently got involved with Brixham Trawler Provident, your rig is very similar, so very useful to hone up on sail management of gaff rigs, which I'm new to. Cheers, Gavin
Did you get a copy of Martin Tregoning's book? Have you compared it to Hand Reef & Steer?
Mattttttt STOPPPP!!!! Your making me rethink things!!! 30 alberg or wooden gaff? This is making wallet do the confusion dance!!
Haha good to hear, needs people to keep the old girls going but they are a lot of work for me it's all worth it.
thanks very informative
Awesome 👏🤩
Well you certainly get a good workout 💪🙂
Excellent descriptions and instruction...photography too!
..Without the oh so common fluff which can get pretty tiresome. Great job.
Excellent.
What about the topsails? Thanks, I learned a lot.
went for a wee sail today and passed your boat going out of Kip Marina.
when are you due back to the boat.
We are currently living in one of the harbouside houses over looking the marina, so we are always around :D give us a message when you are around next 😁
I really love a traditional gaff rigged sailboat ( cutter??) Is this for sale?
Can we see Paige do it now please. Go girl x
i personalty think Lance needs to get up and start learning the ropes.
lovely. thanks.
I hope you guys have a ep 6 I'm watching.
How large in terms of square footage of the main?
I imagine I wouldn't like to handle anything larger than 400 sq ft in gaff.
great verey informative well dun
A couple of small pointers. To get the final diagonal crease correct from peak to tack the topping lifts and sheets need to be slack (Martin Tregoning explains that crease very well) and I'd like to see some seizing wire on those shackles especially the ones that go aloft! In my opinion there is only one book for everything to do with gaff rig, Classic Boat Seamanship by Martin Tregoning, too many basic errors in all the other popular books I've seen, some authors even get it wrong in their videos and on television.
Cheers for the feedback, will look into his book, always after good gaff books 👍
Why isn't the Peak Halyard on the same ratio as the Throat Halyard so they both rise at the same _rate?_
where are you when this was filmed?
It was this morning in Great Cumbrae :)
@@LivingWithTheTide that blue sky is amazing I was further up the Clyde when you filmed and the fog was so bad the Ferries were cancelled !
I sail traditional working craft. We have several differences in rigging,and, the way we hoist. That's not unusual. Different areas have their own systems. Not all boats are the same.
Did you know a Ketch can sail backwards? Think it's time to mess with Paige & Lancer ;)
ive read that somewhere
Good video.. strip the blocks and oil them.. with a nice leather jacket on the deck blocks
Nice!
When are you coming back on TH-cam ?
We will be back once the winter season in Scotland is over. If we can get out before then for a few days we would love to :D it's been a f9/10 recently 😣
Make use of a triatic stay .
Lazy jacks?
Do you bees wax any of the components?
I haven't done yet but this winter I will bring down all the block and oil them and then use tallow to grease.
💪😎👍
Would say a gaff rig is easier that say bermuda rig with winches.