3562Hrs Gaffed

Well last nights storm was a belter. 110mph recorded on the South Coast, two lives lost, including a passenger on a cruise liner hit by a freak wave in the Channel, more torrential rain adding to the flooding. All pretty miserable. I know that the States are suffering as well right now and to be honest we’re getting away lightly. I think we’ve all had enough now though eh?

Today I decided to get the gaffs finished off. It was a fairly straightforward job as I had all the parts pretty much prepped. Once again I had to drill holes in stainless steel though so that soaked up some time.

I fitted the UHMW wear pads down on bedding compound and added a couple of well countersunk screws to make sure they don’t shift. I think they’ll work well but I won’t know for sure until the first sail.

The stainless split pins I ordered had arrived when I got home so I’ll be able to fit the washers and pins on Monday. There are a couple of holes left to drill through the main part of the gaffs to take the peak halyard strops but I’m leaving them until I’ve test fitted the sails as I want to be sure they’re in the right place.

I finished off by hanging the gaffs up and slapping on another coat of paint.

We’re going along to a boat jumble over near Worcester tomorrow to see if we can bag a few bargains, luckily it’s being held inside an aircraft hanger so weather shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll let you know how we got on.