Contd from Desert Island Boats
I spent the better part of this week on a Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter sailing from Lymington to Brixham.
Whilst I lost a bit of the experience to the worst seasickness Ive ever had I did learn a lot about gaff rigs, which, after sailing, was the objective.
Here are some reflections:
Gaffs are easy to drop on peoples heads, heavy to haul up and fall away to leeward.
Gybing is even more dangerous than in a Bermudan rigged boat as the force of the gaff whipping round could bring the mast down. A preventer is essential.
Gaffs seem to require running backstays which add more time, people and rigging to any tack or gybe.
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters were famously sailed by a man and a boy.
It took at least 5 of us to hold the boat on course, manipulate the mainsheet and sweat and tail the throat and peak halyards to raise the main.
I can only imagine that the boy was a four-armed chimp with a twelve foot reach.
If all this sounds sounds a bit negative then Im misrepresenting the trip. I had a great time. I dont usually sail with a big crew and the teamwork made the sailing even more rewarding. But having that many people on board does give one a lot of time to go in for some serious reflection! So heres some more:
Big bowsprits are a worry. Our skipper was concerned about burying the pole in a big swell, it gave coming alongside in a busy harbour a certain piquancy and because it didnt steve or retract it contributed to the overall length which increases mooring fees but doesnt add speed through waterline length.
Cutter rigs are good. They help you balance the boat. Without the jib set there was considerable weather helm. Raise the jib in front of the staysail and it balances the boat. But if youre worried about burying the bowsprit are you going to put a big bit of cloth, with all the extra strain, on the end of it? You could reef the main to balance the boat. Reefing could be easier. With that gaff and a tree trunk of a boom reefing in a swell could put someone in the drink.
So Im moving towards a Bermudan cutter, perhaps a yawl to reduce the size of the sails and make it easier to balance. A short, retractable, bowsprit isnt out of the question but Im not convinced. It would certainly spread the sail area fore and aft keeping it lower down which would reduce heel.
These are old quandaries, I know. Unfortunately so many sailors seem to advocate certain rigs so devotedly that its impossible to get a really objective analysis. The only solution is to sail them all oneself.
I need to find a double headed Burmudan ketch or yawl with no bowsprit for hire in the UK.
Design 366
1961, 37-5", 1641, Nancy Sue
1964, 47-5", 1766, Duster 
1970, 49-3", 1995, Challenge II 
1972, 58-8", 2081, Shohola
1974, 45-6", 2192, Peregrine
1977, 58-5", 2269, Sirona
1979, 50-10", 2365, Zimba 
1981, 50-0", 2373, Palawan V
My good friend Larry Cheek has written an excellent lead piece entitled "The Rewards of Small Boats" published on Opening Day of the Boating season, in the Seattle Times Pacific NW Magazine. Larry, as you may know, is the author of "The Year of the Boat", which is one of my favorite books (especially chapter 14) <grin>
