What is a gaff boat?

What is a gaff boat?

Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the gaff.

What is a gaff ketch?

Gaff – a four cornered sail with a peak, throat, tack and clew held aloft by an aerial spar called a gaff. Ketch – a two masted sailing vessel with a mainmast and a shorter mizzen mast located forward of the rudder post.

What is a gaff topsail?

Gaff Topsail is an abandoned railway settlement located in the interior of Newfoundland, Canada, between the communities of Millertown Junction to the east and Kitty’s Brook to the west. The population was entirely composed of railway workers who worked on the Newfoundland Railway and their families.

What is a gaff rigged mainsail?

What is a roach in sailing?

Roach is a term also applied to square sail design—it is the arc of a circle above a straight line from clew to clew at the foot of a square sail, from which sail material is omitted. The greater the departure from the straight line, the greater the “hollow” in the roach.

Can you sail without battens?

Battens are absolutely needed on any sail that has any positive roach. This means sailcloth that is over the direct line between the head and the tack. Any such sailcloth cannot be tensioned by sail trim, and will flap uncontrollably when sailing unless the area is stiffened with battens.

Is a cutter better than a sloop?

The reason to do this is that on flat water, a cutter can’t point quite as high on the wind as a sloop because the yankee starts to stall the staysail. However, unless the sea state is smooth a sloop can’t point any higher.

Why is a boat called a cutter?

The term cutter appeared in the early 18th century as a description of a hull type. These vessels were designed for speed and the name was used in a similar way to clipper in the next century.

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