Hand, Reef And Steer

Rating:
Summary: Hand, Reef, and Steer
Review: A great resource for the person who owns or dreams about owning a Gaff Rigg Cutter. The book details rigging and nomenclature,and charectoristics of sailing gaff riggs.

Rating:
Summary: Get it while you can
Review: This and the other great book on gaff rig, Leather's "Gaff Rig Handbook" seem to take turns being unobtainable. Grab both while you have the chance. Cunliffe's is the easier of the two to read, with more modern illustrations and color photographs. The text is not so dense, not so richly detailed, but don't sell it short - it contains a tremendous amount of information. Cunliffe covers all the bases, explaining why gaff rig is so incredibly practical, efficient, and safe, why it was so highly thought of, what led to its demise. He covers all aspects of sailing, sail handling, heavy weather tactics, all in a highly readable and enjoyable style. This is a user's manual for working gaff rig, one that will make you ache to be out there. Plus, hopefully, it will lead to the building or restoration of more gaff rigged sailboats, which can only make the world a better place.

If you are new to gaff rig and want to rapidly become a hopeless devotee, then get Cunliffe. Once you are a lost soul and there's no hope for you, get Leather to fill in all the detail you'll be thirsting for.

Rating:
Summary: A great resource on the gaff rig
Review: Tom Cunliffe has written a wonderful book, and I always have a hard time deciding if this is the ultimate resource on the gaff rig, or if another author's]Handbook should take that honor. I have both, and find them very valuable. If you are restoring or building a boat with a gaff rig, you probably will want to get both too. The review I wrote for my boat building site... said:

"At first glance, there seems to be a lot of historical information on boats using the gaff rig, but what Cunliffe has done is describe nearly every imaginable type of craft using a gaff rig. Then, selecting the gaff cutter, he continues on to describe the rigging details of every aspect of that sail plan. Because the cutter has every rigging feature the other types have, you immediately identify those rigging features you need to consider. Its a unique and very readable way of introducing details that otherwise might be dry and frankly, boring, if included again and again in every chapter on a specific type of boat. Cunliffe also includes other information: sail trimming and sailing tips, etc., all with a dose of humor."

At the time I wrote that, Hand Reef and Steer was between printings. I'm pleased to see that it is again available. Highly recommended!