©Ronstan
At upffront.com we are passionate about performance sailing hardware and rigging. However, that doesn’t mean we are all about racing. It means we believe in modern materials and technology to deliver lighter, stronger products which can benefit all types of sailing boats from club racers to the smallest coastal cruising day-boats.
The majority of yacht ropes are double braid construction i.e. with a core and braided cover. The purpose of this cover is to protect the core from general chafe, abrasion and UV damage but also to provide grip and durability of the line on winches and in clutches. Yacht ropes are manufactured in a uniform construction, but customisation is relatively quick, easy and inexpensive and adds a whole new dimension to optimising your running rigging. In this article we look at why, when and where to use cover stripping and re-covering techniques to improve your running rigging systems.
The Alphalock brand is a relative newcomer on the sailing hardware scene but its CEO, Eric Hall – founder of Hall Spars and inventor of their renowned Hall Autolocks - is anything but “the new kid on the block”! Eric has taken all his years’ experience and channeled them into producing an ultra-simple, lightweight and adaptable halyard locking mechanism.
©MorfBlock
There is an increasing trend towards soft attachment of sailing hardware and rigging i.e. using a lashing or soft loop, however they are not a catch-all solution. In this article we look at the benefits and some caveats around the use of soft attachments plus discuss where metal fixings are still the right option.
In a previous article we looked at the benefits of having live forestay load data using the Cyclops Marine Smarttune load sensor. In this blog we take a closer look at the sister product, often used in combination with the Smarttune, called the Smartlink. This is a flexible, multipurpose load sensor designed to be lashed into any system, to provide live loads.
Padeyes are a multi-purpose attachment point, traditionally made of steel and bolted directly on to the deck. With a significant shift to soft connections over the last 5-10 years, the humble padeye has been through its own transformation and continues to evolve. In this blog we look at the evolution of the soft padeye and the latest flexible, stick-on solution from LOOP Products.
PROtect Mask, commonly known as ‘Millionaire’s tape’ in many sailing circles, has been an essential part of riggers toolkits for years.
Image Credit: TP52 Alegre/Nico Martinez
Morf Block – the brainchild of Morfrac Systems – is constantly evolving. Once a DIY block, where the user was free to use the lash thimble of their choice, Morf Block is now available ready-to-run, optimised for either high performance or high load.
In conversation with Nicolas Goldenberg, the founder of Morfrac Systems, this blog post reflects on the evolution of the block over time and considers the future of the product.
Image credit: Cyclops Marine Smarttune
If there was just one piece of information, one number, which could give you real insight into your rig tune and sailing performance, it is forestay load. It is the leading edge of your sail plan, controls the behaviour of the whole rig and now there is a cost effective, simple-to-install solution from Cyclops Marine. If you are interested in improving your sailing performance, you need a Smarttune!
Image credit: Cyclops Marine Smarttune
Find out just how far we still have to go in terms of understanding yacht mast and rigging loads and why they are so important to specification of sailing hardware and rigging systems
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