Blog | upffront.com

The world of modern sailing ropes is bright and bountiful. But from the plethora of brands, colours, materials and styles, Gottifredi Maffioli’s Superswift perpetually stands out. The family run Italian firm pioneered the ‘Swift’ style of lines more than 2 decades ago which have since been imitated by so many other manufacturers. Superswift features that iconic grippy, durable cover with a compact braid DSK78 Dyneema core. In this blog we explore why this material lends itself so well to light weight spinnaker sheets. 

Regardless of material choice (wire, rod or composite), there are two main types of lateral rigging configurations, referred to as Discontinuous or Continuous rigging. In this blog we outline the differences between them, their relative pro’s and cons, and finally the impact of different standing rigging materials.

©Future Fibres

Upffront.com is all about performance sailing hardware and rigging systems. The heart, and driving force, of any sailing yacht is its mast and standing rigging which support the sails. If you are interested in optimising / upgrading your sailing systems it is important for us to have a common language, so we can share performance improvement ideas and options. In this blog we outline the key terminology of modern masts and rigging.

Having established the significant advantages of reducing rigging weight aloft (view previous blog here), next we would like to look at the composite rigging options available on the market. However, before we get to that point, we need to take a little diversion into basic material properties to provide some background context.

Upffront.com is constantly striving for lighter, faster and safer sailing for all boat owners, regardless of sailing style. Composite (or synthetic) rigging is one of the biggest and most cost-effective performance improvements that you can make. In this blog we look at the benefits of switching from wire or rod to composite standing rigging.

Image Credit: Bamar

Looking to upgrade from a block and tackle system to a backstay tensioner? This blog will look at the Bamar BTV and BTM mechanical backstay tensioners and compare them with alternatives on the market.