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Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dave Proctor. I am a freelance journalist and the proud owner of a classic 27 ft yacht. A 1971-built sloop rigged Albin Vega. I have been invited to write a series of articles on my wishlist of the things that I would like to buy for my boat. 

Image credit - C-Tech

A snuffer is a simple, reliable method of dousing an asymmetric spinnaker. Despite advances in furling technology, snuffers remain the first choice for many offshore race yachts such as Class 40 and IMOCA. In this blog we look at how to select the correct length of snuffer for your sail, why snuffers dominate in short-handed offshore racing and where a furling asymmetric might be preferred. To help answer these questions we sat down with Nathan Steffenoni, co-director of OneSails GBR South. As you might expect, the considerations are very much case dependent, so Nathan was keen to caveat many of his responses. 

A bowsprit is now an almost inevitable feature of a racing yacht or performance cruiser and there are also a number of off-the-shelf retrofit options available. The uptake is due in part to the popularity of asymmetric downwind sails which offer ease of handing, particularly when sailing with reduced crew. But even for a predominantly symmetric spinnaker boat, a bowsprit is necessary for flying a code zero or other specialist reaching asymmetric. In this blog we look at how to best setup a bowsprit to suit your sail inventory. 

Selden have been making sailing yacht masts since the 1960s and what started as a company that produced basic wooden masts has evolved into a world leading brand with an extensive range of sail handling and deck hardware systems. Some of their products have become household names in their own right e.g. Furlex furlers, but in this blog we take a closer look at their extremely popular, retrofit extendable bowsprits.

Retrofitting a bowsprit, to allow the use of code 0 and asymmetric sails, is an increasingly popular performance upgrade for both cruisers and offshore racing sailors. A big consideration for installation is the setup of any existing hardware on your bow. In this blog we look at specialist retrofit bowsprit manufacturers, Trogear, and the variety of installation methods available to cope with different bow layouts.

Image Credits: Facnor

Facnor is a specialist in designing and manufacturing furling systems, and therefore it should come as no surprise that they have a retrofit bowsprit solution.