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News · Technique

Technique — page 2

Trim, tuning, sail care and how-to guidance from the loft floor.

Photo © UK Sailmakers

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO SURF FASTER

Asymmetrical spinnakers require more active trimming than symmetrical spinnakers when surfing in any kind of waves. The key is to trim the spinnaker sheet tighter as the bow goes down the…

July 15, 2021

33-footer SWE 15 heeled on the wind under grey X-Drive® mainsail and genoa, spray flying, photo by Lasse Eklöf

TECHNIQUE

Better Furling | Tips on Starting | Easier Spinnaker Handling and More

View fullsize X-Drive Carbon/Polyester: the best balance of price and performance for smaller and mid sized performance…

June 20, 2021

Two sailors in face masks stand on deck beside a navy sail cover bearing the UK Sailmakers logo at a marina

TECHNIQUE

SERVICE IS WHY SHE CHOSE UK SAILMAKERS

View fullsize Last summer, when they couldn’t get the rental house they wanted as a COVID escape, NY Sailor Perry Burgess and her husband bought a pre-owned Catalina 36 MKII. UK Sailmakers’…

April 9, 2021

Sloop flying a red, white and blue asymmetric spinnaker with grey mainsail, two crew aboard, wooded islands behind

TECHNIQUE

Doublehanding Tips | UK Sailmakers at 75 | Job Opportunities

With the explosive interest in doublehanded big boat racing, UK Sailmakers is happy to announce a new instructional section on our website dedicated to tips on how to sail with just two…

January 30, 2021

Photo A: looking up the luff of a dark navy jib with blue draft stripes beside the mast and spreaders

TECHNIQUE

JIB TRIM PRO TIP

Barry Hayes (UK Sailmakers Ireland) and Pat Considine (UK Sailmakers Chicago) explain headsail vertical camber and why it’s so important to boat speed and. Understanding headsail vertical…

August 20, 2020

Start-line diagram: red and green boats luffing head to wind below the line, hailing for room and overlap

TECHNIQUE

UNDERSTANDING LUFFING BEFORE THE START

View fullsize Luffing before the starting signal is often mis-understood. Sailors should know that the rule makers give a lot of defensive and offensive powers to leeward boat on the…

August 20, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

DOUBLEHANDED RACING TIPS: SPINNAKER PEELS

By Adam Loory, General Manager of UK Sailmakers International This spring, I created a doublehanded social distancing racing series so that sailboat racing could restart safely. An…

August 7, 2020

Full-batten X-Drive® mainsail on a Swan 60, GER 6261, with alternating carbon and Endumax fibre tapes

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO TAME YOUR FULL-BATTEN MAIN

A massive full-batten X-Drive main on a Swan 60. Every other reinforcing fiber is carbon next to an Endumax fiber. The mix of carbon and Endumax (a relative of Spectra and Dyneema) gives…

July 16, 2020

Annotated photo of a jib sheet led to an outboard lead block on the rail, red arrows labelling both

TECHNIQUE

TIPS FOR SAILING SHORTHANDED

By Brendan Huffman In recent months, UK Sailmakers has helped a growing number of our customers by designing for them sail plans and rigging layouts to help them sail better either alone or…

July 16, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

WHAT IS THE ANTI-BARGING RULE?

Barging is the most common foul that happens on the starting line, yet there is no “anti-barging” rule in the Racing Rules of Sailing. Barging is when an inside windward boat takes mark…

July 15, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

RULE 18.3 EXPLAINED

Most protests between sailboats on the racecourse come from situations where boats are going around marks, which is Rule 18. Rule 18.3 (mark room when a boat tacks in the zone) was written…

May 8, 2020

Video title graphic: How to Do the Mexican or Kiwi Spinnaker Drop, boats shown rounding a leeward mark

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO DO A MEXICAN SPINNAKER TAKEDOWN OR THE KIWI DROP

The best way to pass boats when rounding a leeward mark to port is to do a Mexican takedown. The Mexican allows you to carry the spinnaker right into the rounding while also preventing the…

April 23, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO DO THE MEXICAN TAKEDOWN OR KIWI DROP

The best way to pass boats when rounding a leeward mark to port is to do a Mexican takedown. The Mexican allows you to carry the spinnaker right into the rounding while also preventing the…

April 9, 2020

C&C 115 CRO CONNECTION sailing upwind under a grey laminate genoa and black mainsail in choppy seas

TECHNIQUE

TIPS FOR STAYING IN THE GAME

View fullsize We will all be back on the water once Covid-19 threat is mitigated. This newsletter brings you tips to improve your cruising and racing skills. UK Sailmakers will continue to…

March 20, 2020

Bow of an Italia 12.98 cruiser under a grey laminate furling genoa, historic waterfront and church spire astern

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO AVOID ROLLER FURLING FAILURES

View fullsize View fullsize UK Sailmakers realizes that, regardless of how deep your pockets are, sails are an investment, so here are some tips for how to avoid roller furling failures.…

March 10, 2020

Reichel/Pugh 77 JELIK burying her bow in a wave, spray exploding over the foredeck under black sails

TECHNIQUE

Top Ten Tips for Doing The Bow

View fullsize The bowman at work on the bow of the Reichel/Pugh 76 JELIK. Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland gives his top tips on how to be the best bow crew . Any bow crew worth his or…

March 7, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO DO the Stretch-and-Blow Spinnaker Douse

In past posts, we’ve discussed two well-used spinnaker retrieval methods: the letterbox, which is highly recommended in the ocean or when the sea state is up, and the string drop, where you…

March 4, 2020

J/109 WHISKEY JACK heeled hard upwind under a black mainsail, crew hiking as spray bursts over the bow

TECHNIQUE

How to Sail Fast: Top 10 Sail Trim Tips

View fullsize Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland gives his top ten sail trim tips for the coming season 1. Know your sails, know your settings Many boats sailing inshore with a…

February 20, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

How To: The String Drop Takedown

When executed properly, spinnaker takedowns are arguably the most satisfying and most fun maneuvers to be part of. When they are done properly, they’re great. When they go left on you,…

February 20, 2020

Beneteau First 30 MINKIE punching upwind through steep grey seas under grey laminate main and jib, crew on the rail

TECHNIQUE

HEAVY WEATHER TECHNIQUES, BETTER BALANCE AND MORE FROM UK SAILMAKERS

View fullsize The Beneteau First 30 MINKE sailing in the Indian Ocean off Fremantle, Australia. In the summer, the strong sea breeze there is so dependable that it is called the Fremantle…

January 30, 2020

Large group of sailors and children in matching caps holding a 2019 Pacific Circuit Rally banner at a marina

TECHNIQUE

HAPPY HOLIDAY WEEKEND: ENJOY IT WITH A FEW GOOD "HOW TO" TIPS

View fullsize To all sailors in the United States, Happy Memorial Day Weekend from the sailors getting ready to set out of on the Pacific Circuit Rally, which will take them from New…

May 23, 2019

On-deck view of a red, white and blue spinnaker flogging above the bow as crew scramble forward on a racing sloop

TECHNIQUE

HOW TO RECOVER FROM THREE SPINNAKER FAILURES

View fullsize Before heading to Australia in December 2017 for their first Sydney-to-Hobart Race, the crew of Andrew Weiss’ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON had a briefing session with renowned ocean…

May 3, 2019

Rules Quiz animation: green boat hailing 'Starboard!' at a converging red boat, with wind arrow and marks A and B

TECHNIQUE

A FEW TIPS FOR THE RACING RULES FOR 2017

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 456 2601 UK-Halsey International 21 5 3194 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false First off, start by brushing up on the Definitions. There are some new ones this…

February 15, 2017

Video frame from 'Tweakers and Twings': a spinnaker sheet running through a twing block near the rail

TECHNIQUE

NEW INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO - HOW TO USE TWEAKERS AND TWINGS

View fullsize 0 0 1 3 22 SIENN USA, LLC 1 1 24 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE The latest video in our SAIL WITH CONFIDENCE series has just been released. It is a one-minute…

September 30, 2016

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