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KZ Racefurlers is proud to have been confirmed as the official furler supplier to the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018. "This news builds on our longstanding relationship with the Race and we look forward to working with Race organisers and the teams again to ensure that they have the best furling gear available to take them around the world with confidence," says Keryn McMaster, KZ Racefurlers Brand Manager.  Photo by Matt Knighton on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race "KZ Marine have been part of the Volvo Ocean Race for many years now and with the transition to the Volvo Ocean 65 they were an obvious choice to be furler supplier," says Nick Bice, Head of The Boatyard for the Volvo OCean Race 2017-2018. "The Volvo Ocean 65 had a few pre requisites that were required to become a supplier, no more so than reliability and that is what we got. With over 350.000 miles accumulated between the fleet of 7 boats, the performance of the furling systems were second to none in both ease of use and reliability. The Boatyard and The Volvo Ocean Race look forward to continuing our relationship with KZ Marine as fuller supplier for the next edition of the race which will also be a very popular choice amongst the teams”  Nick Bice
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KZ Racefurlers is pleased to announce that we are officially supporting the new FAST40+ Class and FAST40+ Race Circuit, which officially launched on the 14th of January at the London Boat Show. Defined as light displacement race boats, with an IRC TCC of between 1.210 and 1.270, the FAST40+ boats will deliver close and exciting inshore racing. “The FAST40+ Class is an ideal fit for KZ Racefurlers, with its emphasis on high performance and exciting racing,” says Keryn McMaster, Brand Manager of KZ Racefurlers. “We are proud to be supporting the Class right from it’s inaugural season and looking forward to seeing the Class continue to grow.”  Having been in the making since 2013 this new class has already seen great interest with 12 teams from six nations entered in the Race Circuit and more set to sign up. So far the fleet is made up of two Carkeek 40 MKIIs, three Ker 40+ boats, five GP42’s, one highly optimised Ker 40 and an HH42.  INVICTUS - one of the FAST40+ fleet The Race Circuit will see competition based around five key Solent-based events including Cowes Week and the FAST40+ UK National Championship, as well as the RORC Easter Challenge, Warsash Spring Championships, JP Morgan Round the Island Race and Garmin Hamble Big Boat Championships, with Class Starts at each event. The points series will commence in May 2016 at the Vice Admiral’s Cup event.  42 South As well as sponsoring the class, KZ Racefurlers is also sponsoring one of the fleet, GP42 42 South. Owned by London based Kiwi Mark Rijkse the yacht is currently undergoing a refit ahead of the upcoming racing season. “We are kitting the boat out in the best KZ Racefurler equipment and are looking forward to following 42 South’s progress throughout the upcoming season,” says McMaster.
We love this shot of Bella Mente at the Maxis in Sardinia in September 2015. The mighty Bella carries our furlers - a KZ6 Inshore Top Down furler on the prod with a new extension strop using KZ custom parts, and a KZ4 Inshore Top Down Furler on the genoa staysail.  KZ Racefurlers has just completed work on our largest ever furlers: our new KZ25 furler and KZ25 Xtreme Head Swivel 25T furler. The first set, ordered by Mike Toppa of North Sails Florida, has just been completed for a new build Nautor's Swan yacht and is on its way to the yard in Finland.   The launch of these new models expands our range out to 25T safe working load (SWL) with a break load (BL) of 45T. The KZ25 Head Swivel is an 'Xtreme' version with all stainless steel replaced with titanium to save weight. This unit weighs only 3540gm, compared to a standard version at 5420gm, giving a saving of almost 2kgs.  Pen for scale - look at the size of these things! KZ Racfurlers have just completed a full new set of racefurlers to be used on a new build Botin 65 ft racing yacht in Italy. She'll be carrying KZ6 Offshore Furlers with titanium down fuckers for 2:1 tack lines, KZ6 integrators for Top Down Furling and KZ6 Head Swivels and KZ2 Inshore Furler set for the staysail. These red head swivels are our new range of KZ8 with a SWL (Safe Working Load) of 8T. The red colour differentiates them so they don't get mixed up with the KZ6's - and was made especially to match a colour request by the boat. We thoroughly enjoyed working on the project, and particular thanks go to talian rigging company SOLUZIONI TESSILI!  Newly-launched Maxi 72, MOMO has been equipped with a full set of KZ Racefurlers. Built by Italian yard, Persico, the 72 foot yacht is carrying our 6T inshore series furlers, head swivels and integrators for top down production sails with associated components.  Credit: Momo Racing MOMO's prod furlers have KZ Marine titanium foreguys for the tack line which allows for a captive 2:1 tack line connection to the furler as well as a built-in facility to set up pull back lines for in line peeling. Completing the KZ Marine equipment onboard are 2T inshore series furlers and head swivels for the spinnaker staysail.
Already showing her racing credence, MOMO won her first event of the season, the Menorca Cup 2015, coming first in the Maxi 72 class. She was in good company, with all competitors in the Maxi 72 class bearing KZ gear. With the Americas Cup AC45 programme ramping up ahead of the first racing later this year, as official furler suppliers to the Cup we are now working closely with all the teams on their preparations. Recent work has included a full service on all of the Emirates Team New Zealand furlers. With the boats being converted to foiling, most teams have opted for fresh gear with new upgrades added, ready to compete. We are delighted and proud that the America's Cup endorses our product range, with all boats carrying KZ hardware on board.
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