Gaff vs. Bermudian rigs

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NOT MANY SAILBOATS sport gaff-rigged sails these days despite the fact that the gaff rig still offers many advantages for long-distance cruisers. Not the least of those advantages is the sturdiness of a gaff-rigged mast, which, being shorter, can be stayed much more effectively. If you’re going to be capsized in a storm, your chances of being dismasted increase as your mast grows longer.

In the early part of the last century, every right-minded cruising yacht bore a gaff rig. It’s fascinating to read what Francis B. Cooke had to say about the subject. He was a prolific British author of sailing books, and this is an extract from his Single-Handed Cruising (London, Edward Arnold & Co., 1924) in the days when the number of yachts listed with Lloyd’s Register was 4,000 or so.

“A rig that is now very fashionable for small racing yachts is the Bermudian, which, by the way is often erroneously termed the ‘Maconi’ (sic) rig, and it is possible that it may be introduced for cruising purposes in the future.

“I have never yet seen it in a cruising boat, but it has proved so successful in racing craft that it is sure to be tried for cruising sooner or later.

“In this rig, the mainsail is very similar to a gunter lug, but the feature of the Bermudian rig is that no yard is employed on the sail. The mainsail is triangular and set upon a very long mast, a single halyard being used to hoist the head of the sail to the masthead.

“It is claimed that by dispensing with a yard a certain saving in weight and windage is effected, and experience has proved that it is the fastest rig that has yet been tried in small racing boats ... Having but one halyard on the mainsail, it is delightfully simple rig and very convenient for reefing, particularly when a roller reefing gear is employed.

“It would seem, therefore, a very suitable one for singlehanded work, but I am inclined to think that in practice it would not be found altogether free from disadvantage. Although the absence of a yard or gaff may save a certain amount of weight and windage aloft in light weather when whole sail can be carried, I doubt whether that would be the case in strong winds when the mainsail was reefed. The enormously long masthead would in such circumstances be a disadvantage rather than a benefit, as it would hold a great deal of wind and the weight would not be conducive to comfort in a rough sea.

“The frequency with which these Bermudian masts have been carried away in racing yachts would suggest that they are far from reliable, probably on account of the difficulty of staying such a long spar effectively. Now, the man who sails alone cannot afford the risk of being dismasted at sea, and until the Bermudian rig has earned a better name for reliability, I think the singlehanded cruiser will be well advised to let it alone.”

And did anyone listen? Of course not. The distinguishing mark of a yachtsman is that he never, ever, accepts advice from another yachtsman. He has to learn for himself the hard way, by bitter experience, again and again. I think it’s probably Nature’s way of keeping the numbers down, so that the anchorages don’t get too crowded.

Today’s Thought
What we call “Progress” is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance.
— Havelock Ellis, Impressions and Comments

Boaters’ Rules of Thumb, #93
Gale frequency. Yachts circumnavigating the globe in a westerly direction through the tradewind belts, in the most favorable seasons, report an average of two sailing days in 100 in ocean gales of Force 8 (34 knots) or higher.

Tailpiece
Mary had a little car
She drove in manner deft.
But every time she signaled right
The stupid car turned left.