Gaff Rig Modernization advice

[Ian McColgin]

Ahoy All,

Wianno Seniors have sailed and raced with tracks for over eight decades, so I'm not sure what they do counts as modernization.

The tack is wood along the luff - slides a biggish squared off U shape with inward bend at each open end. - and in the way of the throat and tack heavy duty bronze strapping doubled up to make the same fat T shape as the wooden track.

I think you can get hardware details from the class association web site.

G'luck

Ian

[osteoderm]

The original message seems to be mostly concerned with a lacing problem. Before going all-out and considering a change to tracks, slides, cars, etc., different lacing ought to be tried.
The at-first-obvious spiral lacing up the luff is probably more prone to binding than any other system. The zig-zag lacing, with the lacing never crossing the aft side of the mast, works far better. Also, different lacing material makes a big difference too. My current preference is for that stiff, smooth, synthetic internal boltrope material; it slides nicely, and seems less prone to tangling.
Abandoning traditional solutions, it looks to me like the current crop of "battcars" and track seem up to the task of carrying a gaff aloft, so long as they are sized appropriately. A full-batten gaff sail on ball-bearing slides? Hmmm...
Aloft, i ( and many others, i suppose) have always felt that a stiff, lightweight, aerodynamic-cross-sectioned gaff with a boltrope groove to accept the head of the sail would be lovely; i'm sure certain dinghy/daysailer spar sections would fit that bill nicely.