Deck hardware: hardware evolves

People want to have a good time on the water, and take the family along too, explains Phil Atfield of Atfield Technical Consultancy which has meant popular family boats (like those from Oyster and Northshore) have now evolved with more ‘creature comforts’.

All this has meant that, in the last decade or two, the deck layout of these family craft has changed considerably. Ian Stevenson of Lewmar explains that there's a corresponding trend towards much clearer outer spaces.

‘The deck equipment itself takes this further,’ he adds, ‘for example, rope organisers are less of a trip hazard, having become more fluid in shape as well as more versatile.’ There's also a trend to follow the superyachts in having a captive winch secreted away below the decks, rather than out on deck where small fingers (or anything else) might get caught.

This new layout has influenced the design of certain aspects of even slow-to-change things like travellers and tracks. Mr Atfield explains that with the new designs, there's more stress placed on the hardware. ‘Some of this has come about from a different hull form, which gives greater internal space, but also gives an increase in righting moment. This also has the effect of an increase in loads in running rigging. Further, this is added to by the aerodynamic effect of the new technology sails. All of which means rope manufacturers have had to look at different materials, and most of it impacts the hardware in one way or another.’

Whereas a powered winch 15 years ago was a rarity, their introduction means you can go out and sail single or double handed ‘because you don’t need a whole pile of people on board pulling bits of string’ says Mr Atfield. Electric systems have made it easier to hoist the main – which has to be one of the hardest jobs on board…And lifting the anchor can be now be done effectively by simply standing in the pilot house and pressing the switch. Mr Stevenson adds, ‘We expect to see an increase in powered controls – especially as battery power storage improves. Ten years ago the average size of boat with a powered primary winch was 45 to 50ft. We're already seeing boats of 35 to 40ft fitting these as standard.

Power and control
Stan Cockeram of Harken explains that it's largely down to a matter of power and control, and goes on to say that the scaling up in size, combined with the increase in load and forces, means that boaters who want to cruise short handed actually need the extra help for safety reasons.

‘For example,’ he says ‘if there’s a couple who are sailing together, and one has to go up the mast (without wanting to seem sexist), it's usually the man who nominates himself for the task. With the help of an electric self tailing winch the woman can handle the halyard on her own, making it easier all round.’

He also adds that electric winches keep the sheer effort of trimming the sails down to using your fingers to push the buttons. All Harken electric winches have two speeds, utilising the gearing in the winch; the high-power first gear for fast trimming, and the lower-power second gear for fine-tuning loaded sheets. The result is more efficient use of the motor, ensuring reduced battery drain

Mr Cockeram goes on to say, ‘Modern low friction systems let you quickly, comfortably and efficiently set, reef and furl sails from the cockpit, and also, more modern reefing systems improve reefed sail shape. ‘This last point is important, because the old fashioned rollers had a habit of making the sails baggier as you furled - independent head and tack swivels make all the difference in headsail control - ‘Important when sailing shorthanded or with inexperienced crew.’

Further, when entering a crowded harbour, a furling headsail makes it easy to reduce speed and gain visibility over the bow. As an added bonus, the sail stores on the headstay so avoiding filling up the cabin with extra sail bags.

There are other, apparently small changes that make a difference. Some systems enable remote adjustment of the genoa car, ‘The correct position for the car changes when you reef the sail, so being able to adjust the genoa car under load from the cockpit is a big innovation explains Mr Cockeram. This means you can give a loaded sail a better shape without first going head-to-wind to release air pressure. The carrier on the car pivots to align with the load, and the ball bearings keep the car free and easy.

Ball bearing
If a boat doesn’t have a mainsheet traveller, or the existing system is suffering from friction, installing a ball bearing traveller that can be adjusted from the cockpit will transform the mainsail control. So travellers come in a variety of sizes with a choice of controls to reduce friction, often eliminating the need for the holding power of a winch.

Some, like the Lewmar and Harken systems can be tailored for end-boom or mid-boom configurations, mounted on the bridge deck, or used with track risers and high-profile track to get the traveller out of the cockpit. Also, Harken, which may well have originated re-circulating ball cars, has made sure that, (as Mr Cockeram puts it) ‘when you take the cars off, your balls don’t fall out’.

Even the nice efficient batten car system has benefited from a little R&D, surprising since the system hasn’t essentially changed since inception around 20 years ago. ‘One problem with batten cars is that on lowering, the cars can pile up at the bottom, so Harken has invented a switch track that effectively divides them up,’ says Mr Cockeram.

Best value
However, Mr Stevenson highlights another drive in the market. ‘Boatbuilders want to get the best value bit of kit to keep the specification costs down, but one that can be upgraded at a later stage for specific customers,’ he says.

For example, many builders will fit standard manual Ocean or Evo winches, but conversion kits and pre-wired motor gearboxes are available to adapt the manual winch to electric power, and to make installation even easier, battery cable and deck switch simply need to be connected to the pre-wired motor.

Another example is the Lewmar slide rod NTR Genoa car system, which can be upgraded by the builder, boat dealer or end user if they wish to go to a full re-circulating ball genoa car.

The same principle applies to Harken’s furling installations since upgrades are straightforward, with the wiring on most boats already in place. Mr Cockeram adds that the upgrade kit easily converts a Unit 2 Cruising or MKIV Unit 3 to electric operation – and the seasonal maintenance is just the same as the manual units.

The other thing about efficiency is at the manufacturing end. The more efficient you can manufacture a winch, the more you can turn it into a cost reduction, since things like winches are quite expensive items.

There are a handful of reasons for this. One is that the leisure marine market only commands relatively low volumes, unlike the auto market, so the manufacturer’s tooling up is higher proportion of the cost per unit. Further, bronze, stainless steel and so forth are really fairly expensive both to buy and process.

Current draw
But another reason for increasing efficiency is the electrical current draw, where the balance of power is the trick.

Mr Atfield explains: 'Leaving an anchorage is one of the most expensive in terms of power usage. Retrieving the anchor, hoisting the main, sheeting the jib and main. You do need a fair amount of power, and all of it online at once if it's going to be done electrically.’

The more mechanically efficient the winch and deck hardware components are, the less the power consumption. The less the power consumption, the less the engine or generator has to be run to recharge the batteries, so it's a ‘win, win’ situation.

So, the business has benefited from the evolutionary push toward efficiency and good design. Further, If you can use less of the expensive stuff by being clever about it, the more cost savings you can pass on – and the more popular the product, whether it’s an electric gizmo or simple block.

A point in case is Lewmar’s One Touch winch handle. Ian Stevenson explains that this makes life a lot easier. ‘The One Touch handle has a patented mechanism that allows you to squeeze the release lever, locking and unlocking it using just one hand, so you spend less time fiddling around,’ he says.

Easy servicing
One of the biggest advances is that fittings are now designed to be easy to service – the importance of this can’t be overstated. ‘The marine environment is truly horrible for any kind of equipment,’ says Mr Atfield. So, making it easy to pop the top off a winch, while also making it foolproof to put back together again, has meant some clever design work. The Evo winch range can be serviced without the use of tools, and it's impossible to put the winch back together incorrectly; a positive benefit for the busy boat owner.

Safety is key in any new development, adds Mr Stevenson. Lewmar has designed in some simple features to the Evo winch to make sailing safer for the entire family. The feeder arm contains a winch direction arrow to ensure users understand which way the winch turns and first gear is always clockwise on all EVO winches, a very helpful feature when short handed or with inexperienced crew.