daveyjones
Well-Known Member
Gaff jaws, whether metal or wood, are covered in leather to prevent damage to the mast. Can anyone suggest a suitable vegan alternative to leather?
Vegetarian gaff rig.
- Thread starter daveyjones
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Georgio
Well-Known Member
prv
Well-Known Member
Don't forget that you also have to regularly smear tallow on them to preserve the leather and lubricate the movement 
On square riggers we've been known to use slices of old burst fender as a substitute for leather, but only really for anti-chafe rather than for anything that needs to slide. I think fender rubber might be a bit grippy for gaff jaws.
I've seen metal jaws with polypropylene water main slipped over them (wooden jaws would have too great a diameter). That was on a metal mast though; I'd worry that the pressure was still concentrated on too small an area to be entirely healthy for a wooden mast.
Pete
On square riggers we've been known to use slices of old burst fender as a substitute for leather, but only really for anti-chafe rather than for anything that needs to slide. I think fender rubber might be a bit grippy for gaff jaws.
I've seen metal jaws with polypropylene water main slipped over them (wooden jaws would have too great a diameter). That was on a metal mast though; I'd worry that the pressure was still concentrated on too small an area to be entirely healthy for a wooden mast.
Pete
daveyjones
Well-Known Member
Trolls eat meat don't they? I don't, nor do I like the idea of bits of dead cow stuck on my boat, if there is any chance of an alternative.
prv
Well-Known Member
Pity, I'll rather miss it when I move back to tin masts and pointy sails. The tallow tub on board is termed similarly, as in "pass the dead sheep, the gaff's squeaking again".
You just need to find a material (probably some kind of plastic) which is tough, smooth, and slippery, together with a suitable non-animal grease to lubricate it. Do make sure the two are compatible though - I once used vaseline to lubricate a wooden ball-and-socket joint and all the rubber straps that held the ball into the socket disintegrated within a couple of days.
Pete
Even Chance
Well-Known Member
You want PTFE sheet. Like this. They do different thicknesses.
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/ptfe/0680678/
Its super slippy, and was designed to be super-slippy!
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/ptfe/0680678/
Its super slippy, and was designed to be super-slippy!
prv
Well-Known Member
But is it also hard? My gaff jaws have several layers of leather, and while it's hardly a fluffy pillow, there is a small amount of give to accommodate an uneven fit without crushing the woodwork.
I suppose making the gaff with a tumbler, and facing that with the teflon sheet, would be the way to go.
Pete
Even Chance
Well-Known Member
I'd say go for the 1.5mm thick stuff as it will bend readily and give it a few layers. Theres no cushioning effect at all, as it doesnt really compress. It wont crush the woodwork tho. I use 3mm stuff here at work, and it also bends easily enough.
Lakesailor
Well-Known Member
I think sailing is a deeply carnivorous pastime.
aslabend
Well-Known Member
Yep,
I was a vegetarian for 11 years but gave up when I signed up on a round Britain trip. Being the only vege in a crew of 5 for three months would have made me about as popular as Syphilis.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I am not a vegetarian, but have many friends who are, and one or two who are Vegan.
Their dietary choices have never been a problem, even on field work in both Arctic and Antarctic. The only time it has been a problem was in a northern Norwegian town, where the only restaurant didn't have any vegetarian choice, and thought a prawn pizza would be fine for a vegan
, but for field cooking and so on, it has never been a problem.Of course, because of nutritional requiements, some have chosen not to maintain a veggy diet in extreme climates; it is hard to get enough calories from a veggy diet in a cold climate.
Catering for vegetarians should be simple enough on a yacht, and should not be a matter that causes friction. For example, vegetarian chilli tastes as good or better than meat chilli; vegatarian pasta sauces are just as traditional and tasty as meat based ones.
saltylegs
Well-Known Member
I have used Polypropylene carpet but my jaws are a saddle type with a large surface area.
wotayottie
Well-Known Member
Shouldn't worry. With all the lentils and beans you vegans eat, the boat wont need sails. It will be rocket powered.
Saw a german boat in Padstow which had a modern (???) gaff rig and the jaws in this case were lined with machined nylon. Mind you that would not be good for for the environment so also probably not acceptable.
oldbilbo
...
I echo 'PRV's recommendation that you use material from old/burst fenders. have the 'inner side' exposed - it looks better and is unlikely to have surface contaminants that might react with the varnish on your wooden spars. It's really tougher than most leathers, is very cheap, and you can afford to have several replacement pieces to hand.... plus the 'feel-good factor'. It's also easy enough to lubricate, with traditional stuff, just as you would with leather. Modern lubricants work well, too, if tallow offends.
aslabend
Well-Known Member
I am not a vegetarian, but have many friends who are, and one or two who are Vegan.
Their dietary choices have never been a problem, even on field work in both Arctic and Antarctic. The only time it has been a problem was in a northern Norwegian town, where the only restaurant didn't have any vegetarian choice, and thought a prawn pizza would be fine for a vegan
Of course, because of nutritional requiements, some have chosen not to maintain a veggy diet in extreme climates; it is hard to get enough calories from a veggy diet in a cold climate.
Catering for vegetarians should be simple enough on a yacht, and should not be a matter that causes friction. For example, vegetarian chilli tastes as good or better than meat chilli; vegatarian pasta sauces are just as traditional and tasty as meat based ones.
If you're sailing with regular friends, it was usually pretty easy and well remembered. If you're sailing with new people (as I did for a week in France once) it can be easily forgotten and then you feel awkward (and hungry) for needing special food and the cook feels like a dolt for forgetting. People never took me for a vege as I'm a big, hard drinking rugger type.
Heckler
Well-Known Member
And me, a nice rare sirloin for me on hi days and a fray bentos for ordinary ones!
Stu
Heckler
Well-Known Member
Veggie gets a bit boring once you get past veggie chili and veggie pasta.I am not a vegetarian, but have many friends who are, and one or two who are Vegan.
Their dietary choices have never been a problem, even on field work in both Arctic and Antarctic. The only time it has been a problem was in a northern Norwegian town, where the only restaurant didn't have any vegetarian choice, and thought a prawn pizza would be fine for a vegan
Of course, because of nutritional requiements, some have chosen not to maintain a veggy diet in extreme climates; it is hard to get enough calories from a veggy diet in a cold climate.
Catering for vegetarians should be simple enough on a yacht, and should not be a matter that causes friction. For example, vegetarian chilli tastes as good or better than meat chilli; vegatarian pasta sauces are just as traditional and tasty as meat based ones.
Stu
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
Might I suggest string? Good old tired boat or garden rope recycled and spiralled around the jaws. Will be a lot quieter than solid nylon, wont get sticky like pvc fender( some) and kinder against wooden mast-maybe.
I had a junk rig with tufnel strips on all the battens, boom and yard, v noisy. Soft string was kinder to the annodised mast and quiet at sea
I had a junk rig with tufnel strips on all the battens, boom and yard, v noisy. Soft string was kinder to the annodised mast and quiet at sea
prv
Well-Known Member
Good idea - yes. You won't get a serving mallet to work round the jaws, but some tarred marline nevertheless laid on very tight as if serving a shroud will form a good solid mass similar to leather. I'd have thought you could make a couple of layers of that. I'd want the kind of loose hairy stuff we do servings with on Stavros, rather than the thinner, darker, tighter kind.
Pete
Avocet
Well-Known Member
I wonder if you could get a thin sheet of Teflon (PTFE) and use it over a sheet of rubber? between them, they might create a "Sandwich" with the sorts of properties the OP is looking for.
