CLASSIC BOAT FEBRUARY 2018 35BOSUN’S BAG
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATERWORDS TOM CUNLIFFE ORIGINAL DRAWING MARTYN MACKRILL
Last night, I poured myself a finger or two of Shackleton’s
whisky, recreated by the original distillers from a case found
under the sheds of his 1907 Antarctic expedition. A classic
spirit if ever there was one. I tossed a log into the stove and, as
it blazed up, I treated myself to trip down memory lane by
courtesy of a cardboard box stuffed with photographs of my
old boats. Forty years of them were gaff cutters. Looking at the
early ones, I cringed at how the sails were set up, thinking: “If
I’d known then what I know now, how that boat would have
flown...” It was only when I commissioned the newly built
20-ton Westernman that I came close to getting things as right
as I knew how. Take mast hoops, for example. I’d recognised
for decades that by far the best means of securing the mainsail
luff to the spar is hoops, but life had dealt me a series of lacings
and funds were perpetually short, so de-rigging the stick to
slide on a set of the finest wasn’t an option.
The only real downside to hoops is that, even if stitched
round with rawhide, they can still chafe the mast’s varnish. A
liberal slushing with tallow helps and, since you will be
tallowing the gaff jaws anyway, why not do the hoops as well?
To offset this minor annoyance, the benefits of hoops are
stacked up high. Here are just a few:
DOING THE JOB
The primary function of mast hoops, a lacing, or even - perish
the thought - parrel-ball lanyards, is to maintain control of the
sail when luff tension is off. This means it stays close up to the
mast while it’s being reefed, hoisted or lowered. Hoops do this
job far better than lacings. Even if they are rove to the formula
promoted by Conor O’Brien, they are either too tight or they
slacken off when the sail comes down so that it ends up sagging
away and is messy to handle. A sail without hoops is totally
reliant on throat halyard tension to hold the luff straight.
This cranks up the loads on the ropes, blocks and the sail
itself. Hoops help to keep the luff more or less in order, easing
things off all round.
TRICING TO IMPROVE THE VIEW
Inspect paintings of 19th century gaffers working in tight
water and you will often see the tack of the mainsail triced up
a foot or three. I used to follow this example when sailing up
my home river at Beaulieu. The difference it makes is
surprising and it is achieved with the greatest of ease. The tack
of the sail is secured to the boom by a tack line, or downhaul,
which passes through a dumb sheave immediately abaft the
gooseneck and cleats off further aft. On large rigs, it may end
in a tackle under the boom, from which it can be quickly
detached for tricing up. The tricing line itself is rigged from
the tack up to the gaff jaws. Here, it is rove through a single
turning block, thence back to the deck. To trice up, you’ve
only to let go the tack, heave on the tricing line and away she
goes. Without hoops, it is generally so untidy as to be unusable.A RAPID REEF
Of course, when push comes to shove, there’s never any
substitute for a proper reef, snugged down and tied well in. This
takes time and, in many cases, a certain amount of searoom too.
If you’re an ambitious sort of sailor like me, there will be
occasions when you are caught out and need to shorten down in
a hurry. Maybe a squall has more spite in it than you expected,
or perhaps you’re only a mile or two from the chosen haven
when the wind starts rising like the lift in a skyscraper.
This is when mast hoops really repay the investment. Heave
up on the weather topping lift (if you’ve only one and it’s to
leeward, you won’t be happy, so look out for a future Bosun’s
Bag with some answers), let go the tack line and trice the foot up
as far as you can. The aft part of the sail doesn’t change shape at
all. It goes on driving with the air flowing sweetly off the leech,
but the forward bottom quarter disappears. The effect on the
boat is amazing. She stays in balance, but that frenetic, over-
canvassed feeling is gone. You’ve just put in the equivalent of a
couple of reefs in as little time as it takes to say ‘Trice her up,
Mister’ to your ever-ready mate.WIND AGAINST TIDE MOORINGS
AND SCANDALISINGNothing succeeds like hoops when you’re obliged to deal with a
mooring where the wind is blowing against the stream. Whether
picking it up or getting under way, you can’t set your main.
When the boat is stemming the current, the sail will be full of
wind and you won’t be able to stop. In a modern yacht, there’s
no problem arriving at such a berth. Drop the main out in the
offing, approach under genoa, spilling wind as required to stem
the tide. Easy. Most gaffers don’t have enough area in the
staysail for this, so some main is essential until the last minute.
Set up that weather topping lift and trice up hard to take off
way. When you’re nearly there and still trucking on, slack away
the peak halyards too. As the peak settles, the scandalised sail
virtually disappears, leaving only a scruffy roll between boom
end and throat.
To drop this awkward mooring, hoist the throat and trice the
luff, but don’t peak up. Now slip the buoy and heave away on
the peak. When you’re good and ready, ease the tack down,
harden the luff, and off you jolly well go.