Gear: Born to Rock Design Snatch Blocks

Author:
Adam Cort
Publish date:
Jul 24, 2019

Super-light Snatch Block

Born-to-Rock-sb2

Never mind the novel way in which this bit of gear is manufactured: from a purely functional standpoint Born To Rock’s 3D printed snatch block is also nicely configured so that it fits easily in your hand when clipping it on to, say, a genoa sheet while bearing off onto a reach. It’s also so light as to be buoyant, not a bad feature if it should happen to go over the side at the dock or in a drifter.

The key to the block’s strength is the soft lashing that not only serves as an attachment point, but helps bind the block together under load, thanks to the way it wends its way through a number of channels in the block's cheeks. Easy to open and close, it's also corrosion-free, ensuring smooth operation even after years of abuse or sitting at the bottom of a damp locker. As an added plus, the fact that the block is 3D printed in structural plastic means it can be fabricated in a wide range of sizes. From $95. Born to Rock Design, borntorock.com

Related

maintenance-02

“Old sailors never die, they just get a little dinghy.” It may be a hoary old joke, but one of my problems at age 79 is I can no longer get easily in and out of a little dinghy, and neither can my (several years younger than me) wife. For this, and various other reasons I will ...read more

01-LEAD-DSC_0953

Sailboat Cruising

Here’s to the humble magnetic compass, without a doubt the sailor’s most reliable instrument onboard. It’s always there for you and with the rarest of exceptions, always operational. Yes, I love my chartplotter, autopilot, radar and AIS. They help me be a safer and more ...read more

02-En-route-Jost-Van-D

Joseph Conrad once wrote, “The sea never changes.” And while this may or not be true, something most definitely not open for debate is the fact we sailors, “wrapped in mystery,” as Conrad put it, are continually changing—whether we like it or not. I found myself thinking these ...read more

220307FP51_1JML0332

If you can sell more than 150 catamarans off-plan before the resin has even hit the fiberglass, you must be doing something right. Despite costing around $1.1 million once fitted out and on the water, Fountaine-Pajot’s new 51 has done just that. The French yard has been at it ...read more

00LEAD-IMG-9035

It’s a typical humid, southern Chesapeake Bay summer day when I show up on the doorstep of Latell & Ailsworth Sailmakers in the one-stoplight, one-lane-roadway, rural tidewater town of Deltaville, Virginia. I’m late getting here to work on a new jib for my 29-foot, Bill ...read more

m5702_RACE-AREA-6

Ever since making the controversial decision to hold the next America’s Cup in Barcelona, Spain, instead of in home waters, Defender Emirates Team New Zealand has been hard at work organizing logistics for the event. The Racing Area for the Challenger Selection Series and the ...read more

00LEAD

I first heard about Capt. Liz Gillooly in 2016 from my cousin while working three jobs in our shared hometown on the North Fork of Long Island and living with my parents to save money for a boat. But despite being the same age and growing up only 13 miles apart, Liz and I never ...read more

291726157_3222349914654950_8713674249134934221_n-2-1024x684

The Goal This year, I’ve had a specific goal to be a better sailor. Some people have laughed and said, “Why do you need to be a better sailor? This was my 22nd year racing on the same boat, with the same crew. I like to win and want to make sure we stay at the top of the fleet. ...read more

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE