Technology
Setback or opportunity?
The disruptions of 2020 have only increased the opportunities, appetite and scope for the brilliant young Italian engineers at UBI Maior to dream up ever more seductive ways to speed up your yacht...
The global pandemic has stopped or slowed many manufacturers in many industries, but not the team at UBI Maior Italia. Their crew has not only been kept busy with attacking their backlogs in production and working out how to streamline their processes, they’ve also managed to launch a new product that will bring faster and more efficient boathandling to a growing sector of performance sailing. One positive outcome of the pandemic pause has been to give boat owners, their families and their friends an opportunity to re-connect with sailing, particularly those accustomed to the rush of chasing results in a busy regatta schedule. The restrictions have given an opportunity to refresh our connection to the sea in a slower, more organic way, with fewer crew now a common feature, and when there is racing it is often offered in formats that are shorthanded or at least with reduced crew. Or sometimes not racing at all, but turning the clock back to when leisure sailing was the norm, either out for the day or weekend, or on extended trips cruising.
In many areas this has actually increased interest in boat use, even with the cancellation of the normal regattas, as many have sought refuge from the isolation of
78 SEAHORSE
lockdowns and restrictions to find freedom in sailing.
UBI Maior Italia is helping meet this demand for a different, simpler kind of sailing by focusing on continued development of a product line that helped introduce them to the performance sailing world: the Jiber line of furlers. More specifically, the extension of the Jiber line into larger racing and cruising yachts that could benefit from the increased performance, reliability and versatility of this state of the art furling system.
The Jiber line’s evolutionary roots lie in the UBI Maior Italia team’s passion for innovation and improvement through clever design, re-design and use of the highest quality, most appropriate materials in fabrication of their products. What we may have believed were hardware items that had been fully developed with no further need for improvement, UBI Maior Italia then surprises us with an introduced new product that finds even greater efficiency in design, utility and performance.
When first introduced a few years ago, the Jiber system represented a huge leap forward with its light weight and versatility. The design uses the rod forestay to link the drum and swivel, and rotates to transmit the torque and furl the sail. The sail
Above: UBI Maior Italiaʼs stellar reputa- tion for high- performance yacht racing hardware innovation is founded on the success of its Jiber headsail
furlers, which dramatically reduce aero drag by
furling around a rod forestay rather than a headfoil. The Jiber range has now been extended to include two models for larger yachts, all the way up to maxi size! Right: the Jiber range now includes hydraulic
through-deck versions
can be hoisted up and down, while the halyard tension can be adjusted at any time. The shuttle locks in position and unlocks automatically, guaranteeing faster, safer sailing and easier boat handling. Moreover, eliminating the need for a metallic headfoil saves many kilograms in weight aloft, making a direct translation to improved stability, reduced pitch gyradius and thus increased performance: the weight savings of 30kg on a typical 45ft boat translates to an increase in stability equivalent to having two crew hiking on the rail.
The proven popularity of the Jiber system among both custom and production boatbuilders relies on more than just clever design, but use of high-quality materials in the component parts and versatility in installation styles. Weight and
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