Vegetarian gaff rig.

[30boat]

I would still use leather.Cows are basically processed grass are they not?

 

[William_H]

Carnivorous boats

I think sailing is a deeply carnivorous pastime.

Yes my boat has prooved over the years to be very carnivorous. It eats humans in small and not so small lumps. But I still love it. A father's love.... olewill

 

[vyv_cox]

Perhaps surprisingly, PTFE causes severe wear of most materials due to the glass filler added to improve its mechanical properties. We experienced severe wear of stainless steel balls in ball valves due to use against PTFE seals and research found it to do much the same against many other metals.

Polyethylene, polypropylene or nylon would be better from this point of view. I bushed the bearings in my gooseneck with domestic water pipe, which is polyethylene, and has proved very successful.

 

[prv]

I bushed the bearings in my gooseneck with domestic water pipe, which is polyethylene, and has proved very successful.

I imagine the materials it's bearing against do not include varnished timber, though?

Pete

 

[vyv_cox]

I imagine the materials it's bearing against do not include varnished timber, though?

Pete

No they don't, but polyethylene would be a much better choice than PTFE against such a soft counterface.

 

[daveyjones]

Thanks for the (serious) replies-some interesting ideas there to work on. I might also experiment with thick (say 12 oz) sailcloth in several layers. Incidentally the masts are painted wood, so perhaps the paint might act as a sort of slippery surface to allow free movement?

 

[nigelmercier]

nor do I like the idea of bits of dead cow stuck on my boat...

[RANT]
What about the animal product in the varnish, the glue in the plywood, not to mention the antifoul killing all those sea creatures?

Animals have been our food since the dawn of time, you are never going to change that. Modern methods are humane, at least in Europe. If you want to make a point, protest about Kosher or Halal slaughter, or the production of shark-fin soup.

Very little of a dead cow is wasted, so why not celebrate how useful it has been?

 

[Avocet]

Interesting about the PTFE! After I posted, someone told me that the main problem with PTFE is that with it being so soft, it picks up bits of grit and dirt, which it then uses to abrade the surface against which it bears. Possibly not such a good choice. Not sure about the sail cloth - won't it hold moisture against the varnish? What do serious vegetarians do for shoe leather? Can't believe this is a problem that hasn't been come across before? are there no man-made leather substitutes?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Veggie gets a bit boring once you get past veggie chili and veggie pasta.
Stu

If you're tired of Indian cuisine - which is nearly all vegetarian - then you must be tired of life. There is also a strong vegetarian section of Chinese cuisine; there are days in the year when it is traditional in China not to eat meat. I am sure there are plenty of other examples. I merely highlighted two that are familar to most people.

Of course, there also the "fake meat" options, like Quorn and the Linda McCartney range in the supermarkets!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

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

Treat it with Stockholm Tar and it'll even smell like a boat!

 

[prv]

No they don't, but polyethylene would be a much better choice than PTFE against such a soft counterface.

That's certainly true, but I think several layers of marline serving would be even better.

Pete

 

[prv]

Treat it with Stockholm Tar and it'll even smell like a boat!

It should come with a certain amount of tar already in it. I'll admit that the tradition is part of the reason this idea appeals to me - next best thing to tallowed leather

Pete

 

[John the kiwi]

reverse the question?

Interesting stuff leather. It has properties unmatched by any synthetic (as does wool of course and us Kiwis know about sheep!)

To the original question: Can you not instead sheath the section of mast the jaws work on with a wrap around of UHMWPE or other abrasion resistant sheet material. Would almost not matter what the jaws were or weren't padded with then.
OK just realised it is the Gaff and you need to hoist it, but a plastic or synthetic padding on the jaws should protect wood finish during hoisting and just have a sheath on the working area. Plastics can be had in a variety of colours so it needn't be a conspicuous white band.

 

[prv]

To the original question: Can you not instead sheath the section of mast the jaws work on with a wrap around of UHMWPE or other abrasion resistant sheet material.

It is possible, but you need a band for each reef. You also need to make sure that the bands (and their fixings, if not glued) aren't allowing any water into or against the mast.

Pete

 

[Zagato]

I have clear plastic pipe simply pushed onto my gaff jaws - job done

 

[davidej]

Don't forget that you also have to regularly smear tallow on them to preserve the leather and lubricate the movement

Pete

Doesn't tallow come from cows as well?

 

[TimBennet]

I think wrapping it in twine would be my first choice and all kept well lubricated with Lanocote (the production of which doesn't require any harm coming to the sheep).