The Gaff Rig Page is a "Respository of Sources" for others on the same journey. This page includes some of the on-line resources I found. In the Detail Pages, I include information gleaned from the off-line sources, including drawings, tips for making your own mast hoops for a small gaffer, etc. If you know of other quality sources, please let me know by emailing me. I'll add your links and sources here for others.

And now, a word from our sponsor.

That's me. What started as a single page attached to my personal webspace has become an integral part of my new boat building site, messing-about.com. Wanting to stay away from banners and pop up ads, I help offset the cost of the site by my associations with leading Internet companies. Its not a great business plan, judging from the results so far, but hey, I know people who spend a lot more for their obsessions, and all they end up with is a hangover.

The Gaff Rig Page, in association with Amazon.com, has provided links for books that take you directly to Amazon.com's listing. While I provide my own review, Amazon.com provides both editor and other reader's reviews, which can be very helpful. Because these are specialized books, you can usually obtain them faster from Amazon.com than from a brick-and-mortar bookstore. If you purchase the book using that link, a small commission is paid to The Gaff Rig Page to help support it (all of Amazon.com's usual policies apply for secure ordering, satisfaction guarantees, etc.) Cool, eh?

Online Resources

Brion Toss, master rigger and author of " Rigger's Apprentice," has a web site with an active BBS where Brion and other experts are more than willing to answer questions on gaff rigs. Click on this link to get to Brion's site, and then follow the links to Spar Talk - From Brion Toss. Be sure to check out the archives for "gaff rig" messages; there are quite a few. Brion also offers his unique tools for splicing, etc. on the website, so if you have a large project coming up, be sure and check out the rest of his site also. His book, The Complete Rigger's Apprentice, is the leading authority on rigging, and certainly worth having. There's not a lot of gaff rig specific information in it, but there is a lot that applies to any rig. I give a more complete review below.

Wooden Boat Magazine has a website with great on-line Forums. Once there, click through to the Wooden Boat Forum. There is a "Building / Repair" forum where your specific questions are answered by some pretty friendly folks who own and love gaff rigs. You do run into purists there with very strong opinions about things like plastic mast hoops, so take some of the comments with a grain of salt. But all in all, a pretty helpful group of people who are willing to share their knowledge. Not a bad deal for free.

Kasten Marine's Gaff Rig article by designer Michael Kasten gives contemporary arguments in favor of the rig. Michael emailed me in November, 2000, advising that he has updated this article and it now contains more information which will be useful to readers of this page. Kasten Marine's web site shows Michael's designs, and his plans show that he is one of a limited number of designers specifying modern gaff rigs. Check out the sail plan for his wonderful Redpath schooner, and also Lucille's midship sail plan. These are great looking gaff rigged boats. Michael provided some of his diagrams and illustrations to the Gaff Rig Page, which are included on the Details Page.

The Catboat Forum on By-The-Sea.com is full of people who buy, restore and sail catboats, which mainly use gaff rigs. You can get good info on obtaining mast hoops, etc. Links there will take you to pictures of catboats, many of which will show some details of the gaff rig. On a related subject, The Catboat Organization, is an organization dedicated to the venerable catboat. More pictures and contacts for supplies there.

The Old Gaffers Assoc are a group of English gaff rig boat owners, so their site is worth a look. Good pictures, but I didn't find much of practical use (like sources) for those of us on this side of the pond.

Craig O'Donnell of the Cheap Pages fame forwarded several references to me (boat builders interested in money-saving ideas should definately check out Craig's site!) The Sailing Smacks site, another one from our friends on the other side of the pond, has some wonderful details on the gaff riggers they sail. Lots and lots of illustrations to ponder. I think I count 5 blocks on one "peak halyard arrangement"!

Robert Laine notified The Gaff Rig Pages that his new sail design program, Sailcut4, for all 4 sided sails is free for all amateur sailmakers. Robert is the author of the very well respected Carene CAD software for hulls. Both can be downloaded at his website, Sailcut4 and Carene CAD software.

Books

The Gaff Rig Handbook, by John Leather. This was suggested as the best resource out there on the gaff rig, and I can report that it is everything people say it is. Great text, clear illustrations, and quite a bit of information not found elsewhere makes this my favorite of the books listed. It was out of print temporarily, but this new edition (with the same content as prior editions) has been republished by Wooden Boat Publications. I've included several of the illustrations form the most recent edition on the Detail Pages for your browsing pleasure. A scan of the table of contents from the last edition is here (same as the current edition, I'm told.)

Hand Reef and Steer, by Tom Cunliffe. When looking for this book, make sure you note the author, and the subtitle, which should read "Traditional Sailing Skills for Classic Boats." An out of print book with the same name is not gaff-rig specific. Click on the link to go to Amazon.com's entry for the correct Hand Reef and Steer. I purchased this one from Amazon.com, and find it full of useful information. At first glance, there seems to be a lot of historical information, but what Cunliffe has done is describe nearly every imaginable type of craft using a gaff rig. Then, selecting the gaff cutter, he continues on to describe the rigging details of every aspect of that sail plan. Because the cutter has every rigging feature the other types  have, you immediately identify those rigging features you need to consider. This deals with the gaff rig exclusively, and contains many details not found in most other books (The Gaff Rig Handbook excepted). My own, unofficial (not sanctioned by the publisher!) chapter and illustration list is available by clicking Hand Reef and Steer Chapter and Illustration List. Cunliffe also includes sail trimming and sailing tips, with a dose of humor. Hand Reef and Steer is certainly worth having in your library.

Knowing the Ropes, by Roger C. Taylor, includes a full chapter, with apologies, on the gaff rig. Roger admits he is quite partial to the gaff rig. I don't know for sure, but I suspect there may have been some discussion about whether the chapter belongs in a modern edition of a sailor's resource book. No matter, it is here, and it is excellent (like the other information in the book, which except for three chapters that apply bermuda rigs, is worthy in anyone's library.) Chapter 15 includes information on attaching the gaff, mast hoops, bending and hoisting sail, trimming the main sail, amount of purchase required for your peak and throat halyards, and fitting a bridle to your gaff for the peak halyard (I've provided a sneak peak at a couple of the illustrations on my Details Page.) Roger also gives some great information you don't see everywhere: how to rig gaff vangs and preventer backstays for the gaff rig. Good stuff. The paperback edition is reasonable in cost at just $15, and if you only get one book, this should be it. It ranges in and out of print, but the Amazon.com link can do a search through used bookstores for the book. I review several of his drawings on these pages, although it is just a taste of what's in the book.

The Arts of the Sailor by Hervey Garrett Smith. The paperbound edition was last published in 1990, a reprint of this 1953 classic, but alas, it also is hard to find. Smith writes in a 50's style, so you think you may have tuned into an episode of "Leave It To Beaver" if the Beave had built a boat. Because the gaff rig was still popular in 1953, this books contains some details of rigging. But much of it is dated also, as most of us won't be using hemp rope. Like Knowing the Ropes, above, this book is very interesting, and there is much in here for the novice to consider. But if you have to choose between it and Knowing the Ropes, get Knowing the Ropes! (Better yet is The Gaff Rig Handbook or Hand Reef and Steer, if your budget allows!)

Need More Information? Click through to the Detail Pages for a closer look at gaff rig peak and throat halyards, mainsails, gaffs, booms, mast hoops, and more (including our reader feedback!)