Blog | upffront.com

By: Andy Rice, SailJuice

Co-owner of independent rigging company, Rigging Projects, Nick Black is one of the most sought-after riggers in the business. One way or another Nick’s work has made its way into most of the top tiers of the sport - the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe, the grand prix circuits like the TP52s, and in the superyacht scene.

In the previous article we talked about the fundamental benefits of having sails secured by a lock system as opposed to the traditional halyard cleated off at deck level.

Once you’ve decided to install a lock system, the next decision is, are you going for internal or external?

By: Andy Rice, SailJuice

Co-owner of independent rigging company, Rigging Projects, Nick Black is one of the most sought-after riggers in the business. One way or another Nick’s work has made its way into most of the top tiers of the sport - the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendée Globe, the grand prix circuits like the TP52s, and in the superyacht scene.

Some exciting news this month from one of our favourite French deck hardware suppliers, Karver Systems, who acquired Pontos winches in February this year.

Pontos was another innovative start-up French company based on St Malo who brought their innovative 4 speed winches to the market in 2012/2013. They dominated the media for the following 2-3 years, coming first in Yachting World’s New Year’s Top 10 (2013) and with feature articles in Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Sail World, Seahorse and Yachting World all of whom were impressed and wondering why no-one had done this before.

Continuous line furlers, together with a torsional cable, is an alternative furling system for the main structural forestay. This is an increasingly popular, lightweight choice for both racing and cruising sailors.

You have a 39 footer and are interested in using the same furling unit for both your code zero and asymmetric spinnaker. We take a look at the furling unit options and discuss the available torsional cables depending on your sailing style and budget.

You have a 42ft cruising boat and you are looking for options for a top-down furling system (for free-flying downwind asymmetric sails). We take a quick look at your main furling unit and cable choices in this size range.