Fuente info Foilfeed (gentileza Mikkel Andersen)
P R E S S R E L E A S E
March 2010
Issued by Siruz ApS, Denmark
By Mikkel Hartvig Andersen, Managing Director
Introducing Foilfeed® – The end of chafed luff tapes
The luff tape is the weakest part of your sails
Sails fed into grooves - whether racing or cruising - will eventually experience an unavoidable chafe and fray to the luff tape that connect the sails with forestays or grooves in the masts, ultimately resulting in breakdowns and hence the sails won't hoist.
Now, 40 years of deterioration is over with the introduction of the Foilfeed® products. This puts an end to the fray and chafe problem once and for all, by capping the end of the luff tape and adding protection, strength and reliability to a fragile part of sails. The unique and patended design represent a solution to what has been a continous weakness of sails being hoisted in grooves for almost four decades.
Introducing Foilfeed® H1 for headsails
The Foilfeed® H1 is designed to meet the geometrical requirements of all major suppliers of headsail furlings systems, foil extrusions and grooves, including feeders. Though the H1 is primarily made for 6 mm ropes, it has also proven usable on 5 mm and 7 mm bolt ropes too, though it depends entirely on the actual setup. Attaching Foilfeed® H1 to the sail is done by hand stitching. When tightening and securing the thread the sticthing will be lowered into the built-in grooves protecting it from tear and wear of general sail handling. The Foilfeed® H1 weighs 19 grams.
Introducing Foilfeed® M1 for mainsails, covering the sizes from dinghies to 60-footers
The Foilfeed® M1 is designed to solve the old problem with chafing luff tape, improving functionality and at the same time building in some features not found in the existing solutions, saving the sailmakers 3-7 manual routines at the same time. The 3 variants - made for bolt rope diameters 6 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm - are also expandable at the surfaces underneath the headboard plates, enabling various dimensions of reinforcements to fit inside as desired. Some sailmakers are already testing the Foilfeed® M1 without the use of traditional headboard plates in order to save weight. The 10 mm version weighs just about 23 grams making it the lightest solution possible. The height of the rail covers keeps headboards of 3 mm thickness clear of masts surface and due to the material Nylon®, friction is kept at a low level.
Moulded in one piece in very durable plastic
The Foilfeed® H1 and M1 models are made of a special Nylon® compound due to its strength, flexibility, durability and low-friction properties. The standard color white is best to reflect the UV from the sun and furthermore, the Nylon® has been mixed with UV-block in the moulding process, making it more resistant to UV radiation, hence less degradable than most plastic products over time.
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Continued…
Extended use of Carbon is magnifying the problem with chafe and fray of luff tapes
The Foilfeed® H1 and M1 models solves an even more stressing problem for owners and sailmakers, and that is the extensive use of carbon grooves from both dinghy classes to larger yachts. Carbon chafes luff tapes multiple times faster than aluminium profiles of masts and plastic foils on forestays. And the erosion of carbon mast profiles get to a critical level over time due to the headboards leaning and chafing on the extrusions due to the bending out when going downwind. This has brought the problem to the riggers and sparmakers attention worldwide, and not just a matter between sailors and sailmakers. The Foilfeed® products solve that matter.
Get Foilfeed® H1 from your sailmaker or order online
Foilfeed® products are intended to become industry standard fittings on any new sails coming out of production, since it involves such significant improvements on the sails general quality, durability and handling. Hence the primary buyers of these fittings will eventually be the sailmaking industry. The M1 is a fitting that has to be installed with professional tools, so any post-mounting operation will be either cumbersome or most unlikely by non-professionals.
Since there are so many sails out there not having Foilfeed® installed, all possibilities are open for service and post-installments, whatever the sailing community wishes. At Foilfeed® We recommend having it done at your local sailmaker, when sails are brought in for check and overhaul. If a sailmaker have not heard of Foilfeed® The website www.foilfeed.com has an online shop, targeted both at the sailmakers -controlled by a Business login profile – and the sailors. Anybody can buy the Foilfeed® products with a credit card at hand.
Check out www.foilfeed.com for more information.
More information regarding the Foilfeed® products can be obtained from:
Mikkel Hartvig Andersen, Managing Director
mikkel@foilfeed.com
