Sail, Rope and Rigging

If you have a roller-furling headsail, the ATN Genoa Sleeve is worth your attention. It’s built of abrasion-resistant, UV-proof material and protects your headsail (racing or cruising) without adding weight to the sail or requiring that it be altered. The sleeve is hoisted on a spare halyard and is laced with adjustable thin-diameter cordage that holds the sleeve snug to the sail when tightened,

As with many Harken products, the secret to the outstanding performance behind the SpeedGrip handles are ball bearings. As with blocks, the ball bearings inside the SpeedGrip handles allow for virtually frictionless movement, which is a sure-fire recipe for translating as much of your brawn into sheeting action as possible. Harken SpeedGrip winches feature ball bearings for both the vertical

Here’s good news for foredeck crews who have to deal with hectic sail changes and less-than-ideal sheeting angles. Harken’s new high-load snatch blocks feature an innovative soft-strop attachment system that makes life easy. The blocks currently come in four sizes (safe working loads of 5,070 pounds, 10,805 pounds, 18,080, and 26,460 pounds), and should work well in such static-line applications

By David SchmidtSeldn Masts, Inc., has a new line of deck hardware to complement its already extensive line of spars. The line currently includes a line of plane-bearing blocks, auto-ratchet blocks, ball-bearing blocks, wire blocks (for adjustable backstays), and cam cleats (some of which are swivel mounted), but Selden plans to expand into genoa tracks and cars, as well as traveler cars

Spinlock’s new Deckware fid is the first piece of gear that the DHS has confiscated from me before I boarded a commercial flight. Luckily, I was flying home from a boat show and not to an ocean race, but the experience solidified the fact that this fid packs some punch. The unit features a long needle end, allowing it to work with snap shackles up to Tylaska size T-20’s. Its

Facnor’s new Asym-FX asymmetric-spinnaker furler sports a continuous furling drum, where the sail’s tack attaches, and a swivel, where the head attaches. In between is a Kevlar anti-twist luff rope with a Spectra line attached halfway up. The other end of the line is stitched to the sail’s luff. To set, hoist the sail, then ease the furling line as you take in on the sheet. To furl, reverse this

In 2006, Schaefer Marine released the Aero Tuff Luff (model A-1706) headstay foil, which fit forestays up to 5/16” in diameter. Now Schaefer has introduced a 2.0 version of the Aero Tuff Luff (model A-2506) for boats with headstays up to 3/8” in diameter. The twin-track foil is made from a super-strong polycarbonate material and features a fine surface finish to help mitigate friction between the

An override on a winch can become a big problem if you don’t have the right solution. The Spinlock ZS/OPEN is a mobile jammer that allows you to transfer a loaded line or sheet onto a different winch to fix the override, rearrange a bad lead, or deal with a spinnaker peel. Simply attach the Spinlock unit to the loaded sheet, close the unit’s jaws (jammer), and transfer the load. The semicustom

If your boat is equipped with Karver blocks, you can now add an additional upgrade by investing in Karver’s rope shackles (compatible with KB6, KB8, KB10, KN12, KB8c, KB10C, and KB12C blocks). The rope shackles are lighter per given strength rating than stainless steel shackles, won’t scratch up your deck, and are noiseless. Moreover, the rope shackles are purported to be easier to open than

Karver first made heads spin in 2004 with its K-Blocks; now it’s spinning sails and saving weight aloft with the new line of K.F. Furlers. The basic unit includes Karver’s swivel and furling drum; your sailmaker will build your Code 0 with an ultrastrong synthetic luff cord that attaches directly to this hardware. To use, simply raise the halyard, unfurl the sail using the continuous furler line,