As leisure time becomes an increasingly precious commodity and large crews harder to organize, more and more sailors have begun turning to shorthanded or even singlehanded racing. However, in doing so, these same sailors quickly find themselves having to figure out how to handle their spinnakers, even relatively “easy” to launch and retried A-sails. It’s not just the muscle power involved, but dealing with the way the rig immediately loads up once you’ve got all that extra sail deployed, especially in a blow. Not a good time to have the helm unattended, unless you really know what you’re doing! Enter the E-Furler, part of the Loop line from Germany’s Kohlhoff company, a clever little battery-operated system that can be easily fitted onto a retractable carbon sprit and is operated with an equally clever little control unit. According to Loop, the E-Furler is configured for boats with LOAs up to 28ft and headsail areas of 485ft. With the help of a quick-release coupling, it can also be easily removed for maintenance. Granted, this will likely give at least some ratings committees fits, but anything that truly makes sailing easier and more fun in this day and age is more than worth it. The E-Furler will also be great for providing a little more get-up-and-go when daysailing. $3,000. Kohlhoff/Loop, kohlhoff-online.de
Back to 2018 Pittman Innovation Awards
February 2018
