You would probably agree that there are very few flat surfaces on a sailing yacht, whereas most hardware bases are flat. Using modern materials and construction methods, the innovative LOOP Flexi Stick-on padeye shines a bright light on this glaring anomaly and offers some interesting possibilities.
Stick-on revolution
Super lightweight, soft, and flexible stick-on padeyes exploded onto the market about 5 years ago and grand-prix race boats were quick to use them extensively for internal, non-structural attachment points e.g. for hanging waterproofs and other organising /tidying functions. However, with the strength and reliability of modern glues/resins (e.g. Sikaflex or epoxy) these professional crews were keen to push the boundaries and with safe working loads of up to 150kg they are now used as fixing points for many control line systems and even pipe cots!
These stick-on padeyes are now available from several manufacturers with a 40-60mm flat carbon disk. Their strength is reliant on a good bond between the disk and the hull, deck or bulkhead surface and this is where they run into problems, i.e. trying to find flat spots in confined spaces.
LOOP Flexi Stick-on
This is where the Flexi Stick-on comes into its own. The ingredients of this patent pending technology will be familiar to most e.g. carbon fibre and Dyneema®. However, what makes it unique is the way the disk has been designed to flex /articulate, whilst maintaining a reliable bond between the base and the Dyneema® loop, to achieve a safe working load (SWL) of 75-100kg.
There is currently just one version of the LOOP Flexi Stick-on with a 40mm x 4mm Dyneema® loop on a 53 x 49 mm hexagonal base, with a SWL of 75kg and weighing in at just 9g. However, due to high demand the 4mm version will soon be available in 40, 60 and 100mm loops lengths and a new 6mm diameter line, with a 100kg SWL, is in the pipeline. Work is also underway on developing a 3D Flexi Stick-on which allows flexibility in more than one plane and perfect alignment / bonding on to complex curves.
Applications
The 4mm LOOP Flexi Stick-on can be bonded onto a 20mm convex radius (25mm for the new 6mm version), which opens up all sorts of new applications for these lightweight attachment points:
- Cockpit - Optimise your line bag attachments by moving the fixing points right onto beaded corners
- Boom - Quick, simple setup of lazy Jack or lazy bag dead-ends on the curved surface of the boom.
- Mast - Rope tidy points around the mast – hang spare halyards or other lose lines next to the mast winch
- Spinnaker pole – position the outboard end trip line in the perfect location for your mast man
IMPORTANT NOTE: Stick-on padeyes are only has good as the bond between the padeye / surface and the quality of that surface. However, they can be stuck to virtually anything with the correct glue/resin e.g. wood, gelcoat, aluminium spars etc. LOOP Stick-on padeyes are designed to take vertical (+/-10 degrees) rather than side load and they should never be used for structural applications.
The LOOP Flexi Stick-on is just the latest example of innovation in materials and technology which drives continuous improvements to our sailing hardware systems. Once you start thinking of uses for stick-on padeyes on your boat, you won’t be able to stop ........ which is why race teams buy them in bags of 50!
You can view the LOOP Flexi stick-on online here or if you have any questions about any aspects of your deck hardware systems, then please do not hesitate to contact us at support@upffront.com or use the link below.
