30. Fitting the Gaff

The gaff is manufactured from two pieces of wood glued together to form a single spar. In the process glue typically spills into the sail slot, and needs to be removed.

Run a hand saw gently along the length of the slot to loosen some of the hardened glue, then shake or blow out the debris.

My father, retired Civil Engineer that he is, created this simple, but useful rig. It will serve two purposes in finishing the gaff. Spend the 10 minutes required to make it.

This rig is made from a piece of dowel, a piece of scrap metal (I used a piece of spare furnace pipe) or arborite, some electrical tape, and some epoxy. Cut a small grove in the dowel to accommodate the metal handle. Once fitted, apply some epoxy to join the two. Apply some tape around the metal so you don’t cut yourself on the sharp edges.

The first use of this tool is to sand and smooth the inside grove of the gaff mast.

Wrap some 180 grit (or finer) sandpaper around the tool, and sand the length of the gaff mast until the slot interior is smooth. A smooth interior finish will allow the main sail to slide easily.

The second use of the tool is to coat the inside of the sail grove with epoxy. Using a brush, drip some epoxy into the gaff slot every few inches. Then wrap thin fabric around the dowel and run it along the length of the slot to spread the epoxy. Adjust the position of the fabric on the tool so that all surfaces of the slot are fully coated. Repeat once dry.

The gaff jaws are then assembled as shown.

Make sure the slot is on the correct side when installing the gaff jaws.

Before gluing the gaff jaws and packing pieces together, clamp everything in place and make sure the jaws fit easily around the main mast. If the fit is too tight, add some veneer to increase the thickness. As noted in the instructions, when screwing the assembly together, make sure you don’t screw into the slot!

Finally, drill two holes - one “oval shaped”, and the other circular. These will be used to attach the elastic cord to the gaff jaws.

This photo shows the elastic cord installed. The amount of slack in the cord is not very important. Once the gaff mast is raised, it is held tight to the main mast by the main halyard. I eventually shortened my loop.

The gaff band is then attached to the gaff mast following the kit instructions. The correct positioning of the band is important, so be attentive in this step!