Now here is a treat for you. You are looking at the beautifully restored 1915 gaff cutter MoonBeam lV. She is a Wliiam Fife design of roughly 100 feet (30m). In this photo she is heading to the fuel dock. Last night,when she came in, it was blowing 30 knots down the very narrow marina channel and the crew had to make a right angle turn to get into the slip nearby. You have to be both good and oblivious to the results of mistakes when handling such a lovely large old timer in windy and crowded conditions.
She is fitted neither with winches or thruster. But for the latter the dinghy is put into play.
She is stunning from every angle.
And can you imagine handling that rig? The main boom is 70 feet (22m) long, then there is the monsterous gaff, all connected to 3000 square feet (300 square meters) of mainsail.
Consider what it must take to jibe this setup. Remember, no winches.
Tackles like this, called “handy billies” help sweat in the sheets and runners. The weak need not apply here.
If you would like a rigging treat, click here to see a detailed slide show.
Posted by Steve Dashew (July 7, 2010)
