This photo is in the latest issue of Cruising World. I have never seen this rig before.
Tim in STL
White O’morn NS e26U #216
Harbor Point Yacht Club
West Alton, MO
Hunh.
Did the article say anything about the thinking behind it?
It doesn’t leap out at me what a wishbone gaff boom buys anyone. Its weight has to be supported by the same kind of rigging as a single boom, so it’s not that. It lets you fly a freestanding triangular sail rather than the trapezoid you see on a conventional gaff rig, but there’s no reason I can think of that you couldn’t do that with a conventional single gaff boom.
Nonsuch wishbones apply their weight in a way that helps shape the sails, and facilitate the cradle that they drop in to. The latter is particularly helpful with the loose-footed sail.
But here, I just don’t know why they have it. Interesting.
– Bob
I remember reading about this somewhere years ago. It’s not a gaff boom, gaffs go above four-sided sails. On that boat there’s a tall triangular sail with the luff along the aft side of the mast or on an external roller furler parallel to the mast. The clew is at the aft end of the wishbone like ours are. The sail ends up being a unique sort of cross between a mainsail/topsail/fisherman. I don’t remember what they’re reasoning was, but it being a stays’l ketch I imagine it’s a way to get more sail up and manage it short-handed. It would easily be self tacking which would be a lot easier than handling a loose flying fishermen, the kind of sail that would normally fill that empty triangle.
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It is a standing wishbone gaff ketch. The wishbone is adjusted by a sheet that runs down the mizzen mast.
Below is the 60’ west country coasting ketch Fortis. She was converted to a standing gaff rig after the war by Admiral Burgess Watson when he could not afford to pay for a paid hand to haul up the heavy gaff canvas sail and gaff boom.. The standing gaff rig allows the sail to be brailed like those of Thames barges that often sailed with just a skipper and a boy as crew. They were one of the last commercial sail powered water craft.
John Newell
Mascouche 26C #1
Toronto
À beauty
Jean
Third Base
Mtl
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