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.
Those man-sized gaffs make my Tiki 26 one (singular) look terribly insignificant! Great to see your progress, Neil and thanks for your email at the start of January. I’m going to work towards trying to meet you and Gleda early in the summer, either at the launch or 2-3 days later. So keep your eyes open for a tatty but beautiful T26…
Thanks Chris, look forward to seeing you and your boat in June 🙂