Image credit - Vakaros
The term ‘sailing instrument’ is broadly applicable to just about any onboard system with a sensor and a readout. While wired instrument systems are common, in this blog we discuss portable GPS sailing instruments from Velocitek, Sailmon and Vakaros. Aimed at dinghies and small keelboats without a wired instrument package, these portable race computers have transformed the level of data available to sailors while training, sail racing and during post race analysis ashore.
Image source - Stock images
A block and tackle or ‘purchase’ system is a form of mechanical advantage, where the input force is multiplied through a series of pulleys or blocks to create a much larger output force. Trying to understand how to achieve different purchase ratios might seem daunting to the uninitiated, but it’s quite straightforward once you know some basic principles. In this blog we will guide you through different purchase systems used on modern sailboats.
Image copyright - © Studio Borlenghi / Stefano Gattini
In this blog we round up 5 of the best bottom up furlers on the market. Choosing the right bottom up furler is a question of boat size and SWL (safe working load), sail area, performance level and budget. Furling code zero sails and asymmetric/gennaker sails offer fast reaching and ease of handling that appeals to sailing cruisers as well as to sail racers. In one of our previous blogs we have posted a guide to help you choose the right size of code zero or asymmetric/gennaker furler. In this blog we explore different furler brands, their features and to which style of sailing they are best suited.
Image credit: Navico
Anyone who has so much as dabbled in marine electronics will have come across the term NMEA, often colloquially expressed as “NEMA”.
This is the acronym for the National Marine Electronics Association, a non-profit organisation based in the US who manage communication protocols and standards for marine electronics and promote compatibility across manufacturers. This blog aims to give a brief overview of the NMEA 2000 protocol and the basic features of a NMEA 2000 network.
Calypso Instruments are a manufacturer of portable and small-scale installation wind meters. Based in Spain, the company provides anemometers to a range of industries where wind data is important, including marine, agriculture and renewable energy. In the world of sailing, Calypso Instruments offers the possibility to have a low cost, low impact wind meter for small sports boats and day sailors where a full-blown marine electronics package isn’t practical. In this blog we highlight the key features of the portable wind meter range which is now available at Upffront.com.
We have previously reported on the benefits of composite backstays: to reduce weight aloft and increase performance. An effective control system to finely tune backstay load is equally important, particularly for a race yacht. In this blog we look at 3 popular configurations for backstay purchase systems using block and tackle.
