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Regulations for masts?

Regulations probably should be introduced for masts and rigging in the leisure market.

That's the opinion of marine consultant David Barrow who carries out surveys for MS Amlin and was director of Sparcraft for 20 years.

“I've seen many bent and broken masts over the years. There's no real regulation of masts and rigging in the leisure sector,” he said. “There's no specifi c rule to change a boat's rigging after ten years.”

And he pointed out that while superyachts are regulated under MCA regs and boats that have done a circumnavigation usually have a survey carried out, when it comes to other boats, owners often don't see the need.

If a boat had suff ered a knock, this could aff ect the rigging without the owner knowing. If a boat was inspected very few years, there would be more chances to look at the mast.

“It's not the insurers' job to regulate the rigging business; the insurer's job is to behave according to the results of their surveys,” David says.

“There can be a mass of diff erent reasons as to why masts fall down, but quite a few are because of maintenance issues.

“I've seen other masts where there have been technical issues with the masts themselves.”

This is particularly the case with carbon masts - a relatively new product when it comes to masts - where there could be gremlins within the manufacture and possible delamination.

“It's pretty hard to get insurance for a carbon mast, especially in a race boat as insurers are not going to pay for their development any longer. Some insurers are calling for NDT inspections before the masts leave the factory. Regulations probably do need to come in.”

Baltic Yachts has chosen Doyle Sails for its environmentally-focused Baltic 68 Café Racer, an easy-to-handle day sail boosted by green power.

The two companies have collaborated many times over the years but this is the fi rst time the focus has been so intently on reducing the yacht's environmental impact.

The Baltic 68, which has an 'un-plug and go' electric propulsion and generation system and hull made from naturally grown fi bres, will be fi tted with Doyle's Square Top Mainsail and paired with a Structured Luff jib and Genoa Staysail, Cableless A3 and Cableless Upwind J0. All sails are made from Doyle Sails' Stratis 1100 range in black.

Headsails are traditionally built using relatively stretchy material suspended off or around a headstay or luff cable. In the Grand Prix and Superyacht market, Doyle Sails has revolutionised sail design by changing the way in which load in the luff of a sail is distributed, reducing sag and allowing the sail to achieve more driving force.

For the Baltic 68 Café Racer specifi cally, the combined headstay plus luff loads have been reduced from a typical 12 tonnes to nine, with half of this load carried in the sail itself.

Doyle is also supplying its new technology to the J Class yachts, Endeavour and Lionheart. J Class Yachts were the original America's Cup racers. In 1929, tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the build of the fi rst J Class yacht for his fi fth and fi nal America's Cup bid. The yacht was the Shamrock V, the fi rst and only J Class yacht to be constructed in wood.

BREAKING BOUNDARIES WITH THE NEW BALTIC 68

8 The Baltic 68 will use Doyle

Sails' new sail technology which reduces luff sag

DOUBLEBRAID IS THE LATEST ADDITION

Blue Ocean Doublebraid is Marlow Ropes' latest addition to its eco-conscious Blue Ocean product range, manufactured from sustainable materials.

The heat-set braid-onbraid Doublebraid is made from 100% recycled waste plastic bottles and follows the release of the company's Blue Ocean Dockline.

Since the launch of the Blue Ocean Dockline in 2018, more than half of Marlow's yachting range is now manufactured using sustainable materials.

The latest Blue Ocean product can be used for a variety of on-board applications.

It is available on a reel as standard and also as spliced fi nished assemblies on request.

“It off ers fl exibility

8 Marlow's Doublebraid

can be used for a variety of purposes onboard

and easy handling for all sailors, and now has the reassurance of being sustainably manufactured,” explained Marlow's leisure marine director, Paul Honess.

Carbon footprint

“The addition of this new product demonstrates Marlow's on-going commitment to sustainable manufacturing by reducing and eliminating our negative environmental impact through the introduction of the Blue Ocean product range and company-wide Blue Ocean initiatives which focus on reducing energy consumption, waste and the company's carbon footprint.”

And he explained it's important to Marlow to take responsibility and become more sustainable while providing customers with more rope options.

“We have worked hard over the last couple of years to eliminate plastics from our ranges, lower our carbon footprint and introduce sustainable materials,” he added.

“With half of our range now made using these sustainable materials we are getting closer to achieving our target of using 100% reliance on recycled materials by 2030.”

SOLID BRASS NEW MASTHEAD LIGHT

8 Davey & Co's

new masthead light houses an IP67 sealed watertight LED unit

Davey & Co's new masthead light is made from solid brass casings and mounting brackets.

It houses an IP67 sealed watertight LED unit (10v to 30vDC) with a 27-watt output and has been designed to provide good light across a deck.

It is particularly suitable for yachts that are 30ft plus in length and is an addition to Davey's spreader lights that were introduced late last year.

The top end of the light has a waterproof gland to prevent water ingress through the top. “The light sits well with the traditional range of yacht fi ttings that Davey manufactures,” explained MD Jeff Webber. “Given Davey has a range of lighting and mast accessories as well as the block range (both traditional wooden blocks and the Tufnell range) it makes sense to add this into our product portfolio.”

Davey still manufactures one of the oldest furling drums on the market, the Wykeham Martin Furling Gear.

Although from the outside this product does not appear to have changed, the latest

8 The Wykeham

Martin Furling Gear is one of the oldest furling drums on the market

units now have updated internal modern bearings and racers.

“This helps keep them suitable for use in a world where the break loads of ropes and standard rigging have increased over time,” explained Jeff .

The furlers are still available in four sizes, suitable for boats from small dinghies up to moderate size cruisers and smacks.

NEW CRUISING FURLER FROM HARKEN

Harken has introduced its MKIV Ocean furling system, confi gured for cruising sailors.

The furler is based on Harken's MKIV racing furler, but without the extra features not required by cruisers, and priced to refl ect this.

It has been engineered to be strong, have longevity and to be easy to use and is manufactured from hardcoat-anodised aluminium that has been UV-stabilised for durability.

8 Single and double through-

deck bushings protect lines from wear and tear

Multiple rows of Torlon ball bearings are incorporated to minimise friction.

The bearings don't require lubrication and are designed for simple installation.

In addition, Harken has introduced Gizmos to its product range.

The soft-attach terminations and throughdeck pieces are designed be minimal in weight with as much metal eliminated as possible.

Single-sided throughdeck bushings are available to protect decks and lines from chafi ng.

Double-sided throughdeck bushings are suitable for installing soft-attach loops to protect lines from wear and to keep them separate.

Padeye kits include a cross pin, waterproof cap and O-ring to convert a doublesided bushing into a throughdeck, watertight padeye.

The cross pin attaches the rope/loop and the cap snaps over the top to keep water out.

V3 furlers from Karver

2021 sees the launch of the latest design in continuous line furlers from Karver Systems.

The V3 range is split into four categories Standard (KF), Racing (KFR), Classic (KFC) and Structural (KFX) with new features including a carbon wheel with Kevlar teeth for extra grip.

The weight saving has allowed Karver to make improvements in robustness and reliability in other areas, allowing for higher working loads.

The furlers incorporate Karver's drum locking mechanism. The new K-Krok protection is a sacrifi cial silicone band around the drum and a collar on the swivel ensuring the deck and mast are protected from unnecessary impact damage.

The KFR has a carbon drum as standard, the KFC range can have a carbon wood eff ect veneer applied to the upper surface of the wheel.

All the models have a new K-Snap shackle allowing a 2:1 purchase and rated to the same breaking load as the furler.

The furlers are suitable for yachts from 20ft to 90ft and have working loads of 0.9T to 12T.

The furlers also have the option of the addition of the new KTS adapter, off ering the fl exibility to use just one furler for a multitude of sails.

Gennaker is easy to fl y at deep angles

North Sails introduced its Helix Furling Gennaker downwind sail earlier this year.

Described as 'a new sail type for the cruising community', the sail is a top down furler with a structured luff that eliminates the heavy cable needed for traditional furling.

“By incorporating a Helix Structured Luff system into a G1-style sail, we have created an easy to fl y, easy to furl, and easy to stow downwind sail uniquely engineered for cruising,” explained JB Braun, North's director of design and engineering.

“Helix sails were delivering fast, reliable furling for racers. But nonracers typically don't sail at the same aggressive angles, so they needed a downwind sail for deep angles without the complexity of massive, heavy, sails.”

The sail can be made in a range of materials from woven polyester to 3Di and is customised to boat size and use making it suitable for a family cruiser, a multihull or a superyacht.

An optional lightweight UV cover can be added to the gennaker.

North Sails started concentrated on cruising product development in 2016 with three cruisingdedicated product off erings since 2017 - 3Di NORDAC, 3Di OCEAN 370, and then a full revamp of the 3Di OCEAN product line up in 2020.

The Helix Structured Luff transfers Grand Prix sail handling into a lighter, reliable, user-friendly cruising gennaker.

ALLEN SOLVES MAST TAPERING PROBLEM

Sailing hardware company Allen Brothers has used 3D model technology to solve the problem of inconsistencies in masts for the Dragon keelboat.

SuperLuff is an extensive range of sewn luff tapes which can be matched to any sailcloth. Available made from Telfl on, Dyneema and Vectran, key features include coloured stitching for easy identifi cation and a tape diameter to fi t all types of headstay foils.

New sailcloth

The company has also launched HSX-V, a hybrid fabric incorporating super low stretch Vectran yarns in a warp/fi ll ripstop matrix. Available in various weights the polyester/ Vectran hybrid is compliant to ISO14001:2015 and is suitable for radial and crosscut applications.

Clew and reef blocks

Also new to 2021 is a range of clew and reef blocks to suit boat sizes up to 25 metres. Available in multiple sizes, the blocks are said to be ideal for in-mast furling mainsails. Manufactured in anodised, marine grade aluminium the clew blocks are symmetrical on both sides whilst the reef blocks have one fl at side which lies fl ush to the sail.

Finally Bainbridge has unveiled a new racing clew block for mainsail applications. With Delrin ball bearings and cheeks and pulley manufactured in hardcote plus PTFE anodisd aluminium, the block is secured in place using webbing.

8 A new mast being formed at Allen's workshop in Essex

DEMAND UP FOR EXTREME RIGGING

Kingfi sher Yacht Ropes is seeing a big increase in demand for its lines, halyards and rigging ropes.

Sales have increased of associated products for rigging, including products the company distributes in the UK from Tylaska such as premium shackles, LOOP Products, D Splicer and Selma splicing equipment.

Since the beginning of 2021, all Dyneema products distributed by Kingfi sher Yacht Ropes have been changed to bio-based fi bre as part of the company's commitment to sustainability. For every one tonne of bio-based Dyneema purchased, fi ve tonnes of CO2 emissions are avoided when compared to standard Dyneema fi bres.

Extreme products

The company has seen an upturn in sales of more extreme products with Dyneema cores and technical covers made from Technora, Dyneema or Kevlar with the launch of last year's Racing Dyneema 99 Pro Halyard proving particularly successful. With diameters of 8, 10 and 12mm and breaking strengths ranging from 3,570 to 7,650kg, the halyard has been designed to provide the best possible holding ability in clutches and jammers.

Also proving popular is Kingfi sher's range of Gottifredi Maffi oli GP custom products, designed with professional racing teams.

Kingfi sher Yacht Ropes will be showcasing its range of products at this year's Cowes Week, from its base in Cowes Yacht Haven where the company will be providing technical information and regatta support.

8 Racing Dyneema 99 Pro Halyard

8 OYS has

strengthened its OEM supply to boatyards

Order book extends into 2022 for OYS

OYS has maintained a strong start to 2021 with customers placing confi rmed orders through to 2022 for both new build and refi t projects.

The forward order book carries on from OYS carrying out ten larger refi t projects ranging from 24m up to 53m in the fi rst four months of 2021.

The company was sold to the BSI Group late 2020, a move which, says rigging sales manager Robbie Sargent, has helped it to have such a strong start.

“Prior to the sale of OYS, the former owners had a clear strategy to continue to supply custom rigging solutions to the superyacht market whilst strengthening their OEM supply to production boat yards,” he explained.

In 2021 the company has supplied 12 complete sets of rod standing rigging to the Swan 48 Mark III, working with both Nautor's Swan and Selden UK.

OYS has also delivered rigging to Oyster Yachts.

“Our designers and engineers work with the leading mast manufacturers in the world to develop solutions that are easy to install, save weight and therefore easier to service when the time comes,” added Robbie.

Most recently OYS has supplied a combined diagonal and spreader root connect for fi bre rigging to the new Baltic 117 Perseverance.

NEW BAINBRIDGE CLOTH, LUFF TAPE AND BLOCKS

Bainbridge has a number of new products for 2021 including a new sailcloth and luff tape.

SuperLuff is an extensive range of sewn luff tapes which can be matched to any sailcloth. Available made from Telfl on, Dyneema and Vectran, key features include coloured stitching for easy identifi cation and a tape diameter to fi t all types of headstay foils.

New sailcloth

The company has also launched HSX-V, a hybrid fabric incorporating super low stretch Vectran yarns in a warp/fi ll ripstop matrix. Available in various weights the polyester/ Vectran hybrid is compliant to ISO14001:2015 and is suitable for radial and crosscut applications.

Clew and reef blocks

Also new to 2021 is a range of clew and reef blocks to suit boat sizes up to

Barton Marine has launched new three sizes of its vang and mainsheet kit.

Available in sizes 2, 3 and 5 these fully rigged sets include everything required for easy installation and are designed to help make boaters' experiences on the water smoother.

The size 2 kit (02900) is suitable for boats up to 22ft and is supplied with shackle fi ttings and a spliced soft eye for maximum strength.

Sizes 3 (03900) and 5 (05900) have snap shackles top and bottom with a length of line, again attached with a spliced soft eye.

These are suitable for yachts up to 25ft and 35ft and are free running to help reliable control of a mainsail or boom.

Working with the company's 'Rising Star' sailor Harry Newton of Whitstable Yacht Club, Barton has developed its Laser kits for summer 2021. 25 metres. Available in multiple sizes, the blocks are said to be ideal for in-mast furling mainsails. Manufactured in anodised, marine grade aluminium the clew blocks are symmetrical on both sides whilst the reef blocks have one fl at side which lies fl ush to the sail.

Finally Bainbridge has unveiled a new racing clew block for mainsail applications. With Delrin ball bearings and cheeks and pulley manufactured in hardcote plus PTFE anodisd aluminium, the block is secured in place using webbing.

8 Bainbridge has launched a

new luff tape

NEW VANG AND MAINSHEET KITS

The new downhaul kit provides increased purchase with an 8:1 inline pulley system and is class legal for ILCA and Laser classes.

The kicker kit features a chunkier swivel post on the triple block to enable smoother rotation of the block and additional strength for improved stability.

A pillar fairlead is now included to make cleating and releasing of the rope easier.

“When races are won by fractions of a second, everything needs to click into place perfectly and the new Laser Class legal, Barton Kicker Kit does just that,” said Christian Brewer, Barton global sales manager.

With sailing undergoing an unprecedented boom, Kayospruce is experiencing more than double the demand usually expected for the time of year.

With the biggest demand being seen in dinghy sailing, Kayospruce has responded with the introduction of the new XRP Laminates by Challenge Sailcloth.

This is aimed at the club sailor, who wants a better performing sail than a conventional woven Dacron.

The XRP is a polyester laminate with a 60-degree ply and a warp inset, making it ideal for radial construction sails.

It is available in XRP 6 (3oz), 9 (3.7oz), 13 (4.4oz), 18 (5.1oz), and is suitable for small dinghies to dayboats and sports boats.

“XRP Laminate is the aff ordable, yet highly desirable, alternative to the high-tech carbon fi bre fabrics that are the most expensive on the market,” explained Kayospruce's Chris Owen.

In other developments, Kayospruce is also seeing a large demand in Selden's low friction rings being used for reefi ng lines.

“The rings are made of Tefl on and are used instead of eyes which give friction,” said Chris. “In the past, when customers wanted to undo their reefi ng, they usually had to pull on the rope but with the rings the rope is much smoother and easier

NEW LAMINATE SAILCLOTH

8 The XRP laminate is

aimed at club sailors.Inset: Kayospruce has introduced a new XRP laminate by Challenge Sailcloth

to let out. The rings are intended for fairleads and are very high load.”

New compatible products from BSI

BSI has developed a new line of products compatible with rods and rigging from the 1980s and early 90s.

The development is in response to a rise in older boats currently being used.

“Anything that fl oats, with a mast and sails, appears to be sailing in 2021,” said Ulf Josefsson worldwide superyacht and custom sales at BSI Rigging. “We have seen a huge increase in demand for rigging across all boat sizes and all markets, from 20ft keelboats across the board to the superyacht sector.”

And he explained that BSI's dealers are servicing original rods and rigs that can be 40 years' old with the new products enabling drop in or replacement solutions for products which are no longer supported by their original manufacturer that may have gone out of business.

EASIER SAIL HANDLING

Seldén's Synchronised Main Furling (SMF) system enables easier and more controlled sail handling.

This SMF system enables a Seldén E40i electric winch and a Seldén electric in-mast furling system to communicate. A single button unfurls the sail while the E40i pulls in the outhaul without overloading.

The E40i winch can be fi tted above the coach roof due to its slim minimalist design, making installation very easy and unobtrusive for both modern and older well proven yacht designs.

Seldén's E40i winch is built around an electric motor that is fully integrated into the drum, making it ideal for operating halyards, furling lines and sheets led to the coach roof, without compromising on head room below when installed.

The SMF system converts 12V or 24V to 42V ensuring the system doesn't drain any power, particularly important for larger yachts which may spend a long time away from shore power during an ocean crossing or island hopping. The system moves into sleep mode when not in use further minimising any excess power drainage.

An upgrade to the current Selden Furling mast system, the SMF is available for yachts up to 50ft. Easily installed, the SMF can now be retrofi tted to RB and RC furling masts.

8 Seldén's Synchronised

Main Furling (SMF) system makes sailing easier than ever

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