rigging gaff cutter

[glynn]

I know this is a biggy, but i am about to start rigging my new gaff cutter, and having made all the soft eyes for the top end, I have started wondering about the tension i need to apply to all the standing rigging that attaches to bottlescrews,etc.
Do I need a tension gauge like for a bermudian rig, or can a gaffer really be slacker.

I have looked in Brion's books, Tom Cunliffe and Martin Tregoning, but they aren't specific about tension.

[Bott]

Well, from my experience and understanding, the gaff rig is much less a creature of tension as a Bermudian rig. Because of the lower aspect ratio, the gaff sail is much less dependent on the scrupulously maintained shape of the mast for a good airfoil shape. Also, the lower aspect ratio makes the force magnification of staying much less, so you get it from both sides...

That being said, there is nothing to be gained from slack rigging and a sagging mast.

Without getting into the raw numbers or sailing your boat for a season to learn what it likes, I would advise making the rigging as tight as it needs to be to make sure that the mast stays in column through regular sailing stresses. I doubt you'll need a tension gauge, just lots of sailing with a analytical eye. Ultimately you want your boat to sail efficiently, and efficiency generally means speed under sail.

Hope that's at least something to go on before someone who knows better than I can hop in and give better information.
-eric

[Ian McColgin]

Keep in mind that the soft eye adjusts its shape around the mast under tension and this can lead to the stay's end coming a lot closer to the deck than you planned. This is not much of a problem if you use siezed deadeyes at the bottom as exact length is not as critical as with a turnbuckle and if you made the stay too long it's easy enough to shorten up on the seizing.

G'luck