(Image: Karver KFH1)

By: Nick Black / Andy Rice                                                               

Most modern boats today have a form of top-down furling. If you don’t already use this method of sail handling, it’s worth considering a retrofit. Compared with hoisting and dropping spinnakers and gennakers in the conventional way, and all the potential for mistakes that go with that, top-down furling is a much more user-friendly and less risky way of handling big downwind sails.

If you’re a regular visitor to Upffront.com, you will have noticed two new impressive additions to our website: the Bamar RLG EVO Gennaker Furling and the Bamar GFM Manual Foresail Furling systems. Although a mere drop in the ocean of Bamar’s extensive furling range, Upffront.com are thrilled to launch our Bamar collection with these two well-engineered product ranges.

Image Credit: ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF FSE ROBLINE

As active and enthusiastic professional sailors, FSE Robline pride themselves on creating ‘world class yachting ropes’. Designed with both cruising sailors and regatta sailors in mind, FSE are a global brand with a focus on innovative materials and designs. Upffront.com are very pleased to now have FSE Robline rope for sale on our website.

In recent years, improvements in design have seen a rope clutch move from a cumbersome piece of kit to a powerful addition to a boat. Used on both racing and cruising sailboats, a rope clutch allows high load lines – such as halyards for the main sail, jib or spinnaker - to be controlled without the use of a winch. Other examples of high load lines include those that require cleating, such as tack lines and furling lines.

It’s the age of information, and global technological advancements have revolutionised our lives and industries alike. As with many others, the sailing industry has benefitted from the introduction of marine electronics that make it easier to access, record and analyse information, such as speed and wind direction.

 

39BEN, CC: Bente Yachts

By: Andy Rice

 

How do you design a cruising boat that’s fast enough to get your competitive juices flowing, but without scaring the family? That’s been the challenge for German naval architect Alex Vrolijk, who has drawn the lines for the radical - but not too radical - 39BEN. Bjarne Lorenzen of sailmaker Doyle O’leu, has been closely involved with the project throughout, and explains the rationale of this exciting new 39-footer built by Bente and officially launched at Hamburg Boatshow, October 2018.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – here at Upffront we are passionate about lighter, faster and safer sailing. As a result, we are constantly searching for performance orientated solutions that will optimise sailing for all.

However, whilst we offer lightweight solutions for a variety of sail configurations, it is the traditional furling system that comes up trumps for use with a single, large genoa sail that needs to be reefed.

In a previous blog, Upffront evaluated the pros and cons of a cutter rig as a popular bluewater cruising set up. Now, it’s the turn of the solent rig.

Here at Upffront, we are aware that many people are searching for the perfect bluewater cruising set up.

Two popular options for off-shore cruising are the cutter rig and the solent rig, both sporting their own pros and cons.