Posted by Mike Field on October 07, 2022 at 20:05:06 user mikefield.
In Reply to: Link letter Re: Ebay letter on 'little nuisances' posted by Adam Quinan on October 07, 2022 at 12:52:11:
Interesting. I didn't know that the original Swallow had a gaff rig rather than the standing lugsail we're all familiar with.
I note that in my on-line copy of (the 1931 ed of) S&A the yard is consistently referred to as a gaff when they're first rigging Swallow for her maiden sail. I now see why it was an easy mistake for Ransome to have made.
(Broadly, a sail's upper spar is a yard if it crosses the mast and a gaff if its forward end is fixed to the mast. The Swallow we're familiar with definitely had a yard.)
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