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gjordan · 26-12-2011, 13:35

SAND CRAB ,Great photos! Notice the ones with the cross piece extending beyond the upright. That is an almost sure line catcher.(I learned that the hard way) Those beautiful bronze pieces with the rounded corner probably make the best gallows, but they are very pricey. The narrow ones should probably be called boom crutches , since you would play hell getting your boom into them for reefing purposes. They are good to stabilize your boom for motoring or if you leave your boat on a mooring in a rough area. Thanks for posting the photos.____Grant.

**boatman61** · 26-12-2011, 13:52

Primarily used on old fishing Gaffers/Thames Barges as they did not have topping lifts... set the course and bed the main boom then get to work...

Arrrr Jim me lad... them were the days...

Celestialsailor · 26-12-2011, 14:00

Actually it was originally a German invention called stoppinfrum floppin.

Sand crab · 26-12-2011, 14:06

Here's one on a cat and they call it a boom bracket. FWIW A boom bracket is just about anything that attaches to a boom. This term is also used for those enlongated "U" shaped gizmos that attach to the sides of booms making your boom into a poor mans park avenue boom. BOB

Blue Stocking · 26-12-2011, 18:40

I need new glasses

. Even with my 24" monitor, I had to get up against the screen to pick out the gallows from the sail cover background.

**minaret** · 26-12-2011, 18:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

I need new glasses

. Even with my 24" monitor, I had to get up against the screen to pick out the gallows from the sail cover background.

That gallows is exactly the same color as the cover in the background, I had to look carefully too. It's also a pretty poorly made home job, the cutouts for the boom are square. Usually the three cutouts are patterned off the boom so it fits without chafe points, and often on a nice installation they are leathered as well, so as not to rub the paint off the boom too quick. A crutch is not a single point boom gallows, a boom crutch's defining feature is that it folds up and stows away.

Pelagic · 26-12-2011, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by minaret

..... A crutch is not a single point boom gallows, a boom crutch's defining feature is that it folds up and stows away.

Thanks, I had always generically called them both a crutch......love this site!

**minaret** · 26-12-2011, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Thanks, I had always generically called them both a crutch......love this site!

Anytime! A crutch is very common on smaller gaff rigged boats, as a topping lift is generally undesireable because it would conflict with the gaff. Larger gaffers use a gallows. Usually you see a folding A-frame crutch, sometimes a single point crutch that resembles an actual medical crutch. There are also mast crutches for boats with tabernacled masts to use while they have the stick on deck, this allows for transiting canals and the like. Usually this is one A-frame crutch forward and one aft. I have seen very well finished crutches with leathering similar to a nice gallows. The best gallows have bronze uprights with lashing points on the corners and a teak beam with 3 leathered cutouts, IMHO. I believe Hans Christian built them like this stock, for one example.

gjordan · 27-12-2011, 10:28

I used leather on my first gallows, but it seemed to chafe thru too fast and didnt protect the rest of the top of the gallows. On my next two boats I routed a groove all the way across the gallows, including down into the 3 notches and layed 1 inch 3 strand nylon rope in the groove, held in by opening the lay of the rope and nailing the bottom strand with bronze ring nails. Of course I varnished the heck out of the groove before I put the rope in. At the outer ends I tapered the rope so there was nothing to catch on. It looked salty, but more important it protected the bottom of the boom and the top of the gallows. It took a little time to figure the size of the 3 notches, so that the rope allowed enough space for the boom to settle all the way down. When I sold my last boat the gallows and rope still looked good after 7 years.___Grant.