by Bflat on Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:42 pm
As designed, the gaff rides the mast on a sliding gooseneck. Without sail track, "jaws" would be needed to keep the gaff on the mast. There's not much wrong with jaws, but they don't really go with a square mast, and cause chafe (even on a round mast).
With John Harris's blessing, I made round spars, including a hollow mast using the birds mouth method, for my Pocketship only because I wanted the challenge and think they look nice (there's no other advantage). I still use track just because I like having the gaff on a gooseneck, although I've considered switching to jaws and robands or hoops for the traditional look. Lacing on the mast makes reefing a little bit slower than track (I think) because one must tighten the lacing for each reef - that's one more step and one more cleat. Hoops or robands don't have that problem, but have other problems (chafing and jamming).
I DID, however, go WITHOUT track on the gaff, opting for robands to save weight aloft and am quite happy with that decision.
Having said all that, I now realize that you're the guy who built the aluminum boat (looks great). Are you going with aluminum spars?
Cheers,
Bob
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