The gaff jaws that I hurriedly made for Pikake served their purpose, but I failed to realize until after installation that the angle of my gaff was steeper than I planned and built. The main haul up block at the throat was too close to the mast and the screw that passed through the gaff to attach the sail from underneath was also striking the mast causing premature wear. Since my mast gets treated with great reverence, I needed to make changes to my gaff jaws set up. John Welsford sent me a couple of ideas on how to make a suitable set of gaff jaws and one in particular is pretty easy to build. The plans I had purchased for the Pathfinder had included the gaff jaws plans, but since I deviated and didn’t make my mast, boom and gaff from aluminum tube (As per plan), I had to come up with something else.
The new gaff jaws will let me raise the sail easier and the peak will go to the proper angle allowing for better sail shape. I had noticed in pictures taken of Pikake that there was a wrinkle from the end of the boom at the foot up diagonally up to the base of the gaff (not enough peak hauled up)
This will be no longer an issue with the new jaws.
That is a New year project.
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