Gaff Redux

As I mentioned the first time I built the gaff, I thought I would need to rebuild it. Being made of ash, it is quite heavy and the springback after bending made it fit around the mast poorly. So lamination to the rescue!

I milled up some 3/16” stock and made a jig on a scrap of 2x12. I left the pieces long at both ends so that I could adjust if needed. I glued in the wedges at the same time but not the dowel across the gap. After the epoxy cured I used an angle block to adjust the jaws so that they fit the mast right. Then glued in a dowel cut to the right length.

The new gaff came out a little wider than the old one. And a much better fit.

I coated with epoxy and made some fillets and faired before four coats of paint.