Using Leather as Anti-Chafe

[Guest]

Can anyone advise me on the best way to attach leather collars to my wooden mast to prevent chafe from the spars?

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[Anchorite]

Suggest you try Classic Boat Forum, more their line of country.

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[philip_stevens]

Before the advent of plastics and their ilk, wooden oars on rowing boats - I'm talking real rowing boats, not racing types - had leather around them to prevent wear from the rowlocks or thole pins. The leather was from old leather sea-boots, wrapped aroung the oar and nailed on using copper tacks. Some boats had thin copper sheet in place of leather.

To stop the leather from squeaking, and to aid the leather to last longer, the oar leather was dipped into the sea water before rowing began.

I sold a clinker rowing boat two years ago, built in 1956, which still had the original leather on the oars.

You could, as an alternative, wrap and nail thin copper sheet around the mast to do the same job.

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Philip

 

[DMGibson]

It's usually done the other way - you put the leather on the gaff jaws to take the chafe. That means the mast is protected even when the gaff is being hauled up and if you sail with the gaff reefed down.

I would also think that the gaff would catch on the bottom edge of the leather when the gaff was being hauled up if you put the leather on the mast.

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[Guest]

Thanks - actually that's quite a good idea. I do already have leather on my mast, lashed on with kitchen string at present! The gaff jaws don't really catch on it, except occasionally the string gets pushed off and needs re-doing. That's OK at the boom end, but the bit at the top is more difficult to reach. I have seen leather on masts of gaff rigged boats, and in pictures, but not been able to get near enough to see how it was done.


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[Guest]

Thanks - thought I was in the Classic Boat forum - that's where I started my investigation! Must have got diverted somewhere along the way.

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[Guest]

Thanks Philip - yes - I had a lovely old pair of oars, purchased by my father before World War II - they went through three of our family's boats but I did eventually have to replace the leather; it came from my father's shoe shop which, sadly is no more. I kept it well dubbined and it lasted until the oars were stolen from out of my boat. That was attached with copper tacks, but I'm worried that lots of copper tacks will weaken mast so at present the leather is lashed on with kitchen string. This works quite well but it does get ppushed off eventually. I believe there is a way of sewing the leather on and I've searched through a lot of old books for guidance but can find nothing on the subject.


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[Romeo]

We use leather on the jaws of the boom and the gaff on our gunter rigged sloop. We do however have a couple of patches of leather on the mast to prevent ware from the throat halyard. We use small copper tacks to hold it in place. I am always a bit nervous that this creates a weakness but the solid pitch pine mast has lasted nearly 70 years despite the process. The tacks are very small compared to the diameter of the mast and unlike the leather collars on our oars, which are close to the fulcrum of a lever, there is no particular lateral strain on the masts at these points. Wouldn't fancy being there if it does snap mind you!

I have experienced an oar snapping at the point where a copper tack went into it. For the past eight or so years I have left the ash oars bare and have been surprised by how little they have worn.

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[Plum]

Hello Kookaburra. As has already been said, better to put the leather on the gaff jaws if you can, but as I know that this is not alays easy, this is what I have. On my gaffer I have a galvanised steel saddle on the gaff which is leathered and with nothing but varnish on the mast. The leather is stitched around the saddle. In order to stop the abration on the mast I use lots of Vasaline. The usual leather dressing creams will keep the leather supple, but vasaline does this AND provides good lubrication to the rubbing surface too to reduce abrasion. With this arrangement I varnish the mast every 3 years and the varnish never wears through.

If you have wooden jaws, like I have on the boom of my lugsail dinghy, it is difficult to fix the leather to the jaws without using copper tacks. I beleive that tacks should NEVER be used as not only do they add stress raisers, they also provide a track for moisture to start rotting the spar. On my lugsail rig I have put leather around the mast to protect the boom jaws and also around the topspar where it rubs against the mast. Use leather that is at least 3mm thick and has not been treated with anything before you start (I buy mine from Classic Marine). Wrap the leather around the spar and trim it so that the edges are about 4 mm apart for a small spar and more for a larger one. With the leather out flat drill a series of holes 10mm apart and 10mm from the meeting edges. Now, soak the leather in water for about 15 minutes, then use stout thread (wipping twine works well) and lace the leather around the spar using the two rows of holes in the same manner as you would lace up a pair of shoes. Pull tight, go back again along the lacing and pull tighter, until the edges of the leather come together. If they come together too easily, remove the leather and trim more off the mating edges, re-soak, and start again. When you are done and you have knotted the ends of the lacing allow the leather to dry so it shrinks tight. If you have done it well it will not move! Now, when completely dry, smear on lots of vasaline, much of which will soak in. This will lubricate the leather and stop water soaking in and so re-expanding the leather. This also works on oars and also around standing rigging where it loops around the mast. I have used this method for many years without problems (and without copper tacks!). Have fun.

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