Poignard
Well-known member
I am interested in fitting boom gallows to my 28' Twister and would welcome any information on their design, construction and method of use.
I am interested in fitting boom gallows to my 28' Twister and would welcome any information on their design, construction and method of use.
No, I don't want to narrow it down until I have gathered more information.You need to give a little more spec.
What material you plan to use
Do you wish to that it is folding
Mounted at the aft of cockpit or for of cockpit
I normally look at others and take the bits I like
boom gallows design - Google Search
Agree completely.Putting the boom in the gallows while reefing implies either a very wide gallows or reefing nearly head to wind?
I really don't see that working for us.
I tend to put a reef in while sailing under reefed (rolled) genoa, the boom is out over the quarter.
Or hove to, it's further out.
Seems like adding extra, unnecessary 'moves' into the reefing process?
We do use a boom gallows on the small boat, it is basically a board which clips on to the aft coaming, the lower end is shaped to fit around a footrest/chock on the cockpit sole. Holds the boom nicely, same place every time so the cover fits.
I have a boom gallows (as shown in an earlier post) but do not use it for reefing which I do hove-too. I sail single-handed. I do use the gallows when lowering the main. The notch in the gallows needs to be deep enough. I lower main (from working at thd mast) with the objective, wherever possible, of dropping the boom straight into the centre notch which holds the boom still while I work along the boom tidying the sail then when i get back to the cockpit I tighten the sheet. Obviously if the boat is rolling a lot when lowering the main its best to use the topping lift instead of the gallowsIn "Cruising Under Sail" Eric Hiscock praises boom gallows as a means of holding the boom steady when reefing and this is its main appeal for me.
If I fitted the gallows above the companionway, which is where I would like to have it, its legs would provide a strong handhold when climbing out of the cockpit in bad weather to go and put a reef in or do some other job on deck.
But there are two snags to having it there:
- the gallows would be fairly near the centre of the boom so there would be a long overhang aft of it
- the timber cross piece with the notches in would be at eye level when I am standing up and restrict forward visibility
Having just bought your ebook, I feel entitled to bombard you with more questions!I have a boom gallows (as shown in an earlier post) but do not use it for reefing which I do hove-too. I sail single-handed. I do use the gallows when lowering the main. The notch in the gallows needs to be deep enough. I lower main (from working at thd mast) with the objective, wherever possible, of dropping the boom straight into the centre notch which holds the boom still while I work along the boom tidying the sail then when i get back to the cockpit I tighten the sheet. Obviously if the boat is rolling a lot when lowering the main its best to use the topping lift instead of the gallows
www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
Hi, happy to answer any questions. I hardly ever use the two outer notches. I have occasionally used them in harbour to move the boom off-centre so I don't bash my head on it when comming out of the companionway but then still bash my head on it when moving about the cockpit because it is not where it usually is! Because my gallows is right aft, the boom over the cockpit is only about a foot off-centre when using a side notch. If I was making a new gallows cross-beam I would only have the centre notch.Having just bought your ebook, I feel entitled to bombard you with more questions!
Your boom gallows, like most, has three notches but you only use the centre one.
Under what circumstances would you use the outer notches?
Also, could you amplify your last sentence because I seem to be misunderstanding it? I would have thought that if the boat is rolling heavily , it would be best to steady the boom as quickly as possible by dropping it into the gallows.
That's interesting.Hi, happy to answer any questions. I hardly ever use the two outer notches. I have occasionally used them in harbour to move the boom off-centre so I don't bash my head on it when comming out of the companionway but then still bash my head on it when moving about the cockpit because it is not where it usually is! Because my gallows is right aft, the boom over the cockpit is only about a foot off-centre when using a side notch. If I was making a new gallows cross-beam I would only have the centre notch.
Regarding my comment about not using the gallows if the boat is rolling a lot: as I lower the main from the mast, until I return to the cockpit to tighten the mainsheet the rolling motion has, on a few rare occasions, forced the boom out of the notch allowing it to fall off the gallows. Yes, the mainsheet was jammed near head to wind before I went to the mast but then has enough slack when the boom is in the gallows for the boom to fall off the side of the gallows. Having a very heavy boom, together with a heavy gaff, sliding off the gallows is not a good idea when rolling but has illustrated the importance of a strong gallows.
Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk