There’s no question about it: modern gaffers are go. Almost wherever you look around our shores, the number of boats sporting bowsprits, gaff rigs and tan (or perhaps cream) sails is on the increase. The appeal of these classic-style designs with a modern twist is easy to see. They combine echoes of traditional charm with modern convenience and, in many cases, surprisingly good performance to boot.
More often than not, people who own boats like this have never sailed with a gaff rig before but enjoy its practicality apart from anything else. With boats of a trailable size, trailing and rigging is generally simpler than with a Bermudan rig because of the shorter spars, lower rig tension and absence of spreaders. The gaff rig’s centre of effort is typically lower, so…
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Practical Boat Owner (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2015