A step backwards? or seeing the light

[Bergman]

I am looking at buying a new boat. Previous boat was a modern bermudan rig, this one is a gaff rigged ketch with wooden masts and spars and galvanised rigging.

I am a bit concerned about maintenance of this stuff. I've read the stuff about boiled linseed oil but how is it applied, how long do you boil it, is it applied hot or cold, does it need doing every year.

Similarly the masts, they are described as "grown timber" which I assume means each mast is a piece of tree. The topmasts are painted white, but the main part of the mast are a sort of dirty blackish brown colour. Do I need to do some sort of annual anointing of these, and if so with what. Would ordinary common or garden Cuprinol be ok. Similarly would Dulux do for painting the topmast or should I use a "boat" paint.

Last question - I would wish to install a radar if I buy the boat - can I rout a groove down the part of the mast where the gaff jaws slide for the cable to the scanner. The masts seen to me pretty substantial chunks of timber, they are mounted in tabernacles and the section in the tabernacle is about 9" square.

Extra last question, since I don't know what I don't know - what should I have asked that I have'nt asked.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Peterduck]

I have a gaff ketch, so can answer some of your questions. Boiled linseed oil is bought as such; you don't have to boil it. If using it to dress galvanised rigging, I would add some stockholm tar to it to beef it up a bit. Ideally you would also add some terebene to dry the dressing once it has been applied, but I suspect that it is unobtainable in the UK. Terebene reacts with linseed oil to dry it, and this is what makes paint dry. It is applied cold, but not every year.

The masts sound as though they will need to come out of the boat and be scraped until the fresh wood shows again, as the surface sounds as though it has become weathered. This will also make the dressing of the shrouds easier. Yes, you will need to 'anoint' these with a coating, and there are various good ones and a lot of poor ones. Spar varnish is a very temporary coating, and degrades the quickest. There are a number of oils, the best of which is Deks Olje. This comes in two forms, number one and number two. Number one is very runny, and has to go on first, with something like 10 coats until the stuff doesn't soak into the wood any more. Then you cover with a couple of coats of number two, and that should last at least a year. Number one by itself won't last. Number two is more viscous and contains anti-UV components.

Another excellent product is Coelan, and others who have used it will tell you how to use it.

Sikkens produce exterior stains and these are also very good.

Whether to use house paint for boats is a matter of choice; I do, others don't.

I had to mount my transceiver mast at the head of my mizzen mast. I seized the cable to a shroud rather than digging a channel in the side of the mast. I used seizings every 9" or so.

I would recommend "Gaff Rig Handbook" by John Leather and "The Rigger's Apprentice" By Brion Toss as useful instructional reading. One fundamental difference between gaff and marconi rigs is that gaff is set up with much looser shrouds than a marconi racer. This is kinder to the hull of the boat.

You are entering a wonderful world of gaff rig. It is not a step backward by any means.
Peter.

 

[skipperscouse]

a modern substance for galv' rigging is motor car wax oil . seems to work quite well . i have a gaff ketch and have always used houshold gloss { B + Q } on my boat. just unstepped masts after 6 years and gloss is spot on.
check this out with others first , but i see no reason why you can't rout out a groove for the cable and maybe do it a bit too deep and glue a spline in on top of the cable. use a proper marine adhesive of course. i laminated my 50 ft main mast using resorcinal resin 8 years ago and it's still fine.best wishes.

 

[oldharry]

I use Weathershield on my wooden Eventide, with excellent results: I very much doubt though that Dulux would honour the "10 year guarantee" in this application! One boat I used it on before selling on was then left for 6 years by the new owner - the boat was a mess, but the paintwork was good as new under the dirt! The primers have anti fungal biocides too, which must help in rot prevention.