Photographs of the spars for the gaff rigged cat.
Click on an image below for a larger view.
The mast is hollow and the gaff and boom are square sided, all from Douglas
fir. The mast, laminated from best quality Douglas Fir, is round, hollow and
tapered 3 1/2" to 2 1/2" with copper lined dumb sheaves at the mast
head and an octagonal section at the foot to fit the mast step. The mast building
process begins with hollowing out then gluing up parts to form a square blank
which is then tapered while still four sided. It is then marked and cut to eight
then sixteen sided while maintaining the proper taper. From there, after cutting
off the sharp corners, it is rounded using a home made tool I call the inside
out belt sander. The boom and gaff are 1 1/2" square sided with 3/4"
stiffeners on each side. Each outboard end has a pin and slot for the outhaul
with boom/gaff jaws at the mast ends. Rope Stropped Blocks with Harken ™
roller sheave, brass rod and thimble, were carved out of wood from the cherry
tree in my back yard. Here is a link to the instructions I found which inspired
me to make my own blocks http://www.eclectica.ca/boatbuilding/blocks.php