How to cheer up your bowman

The perfect Christmas gift for your dedicated man/woman up at the sharp end

While the Marine Equipment Trade Show is an Aladdin’s cave of the new, glossy, shiny, it was one of the smallest items on display at Wichard that caught our eye.

The French hardware manufacturer, well know for their shackles and deck hardware have released a new jib foil pre-feeder, which should be in every bowman’s Christmas stocking. A perfect gift from all of you aft of the primary winches, even if you do not understand what it does…



Principally this new prefeeder can be opened while in situ; which if you ask any bowman is a very exciting concept.

It can be attached in the normal way, just below the foil, with a line or loop though the hinge and spring. By flicking the spring clip off - the feeder will open, and can be easy closed again with a positive click back.

The principle benefit is that the headsail now no longer needs to be removed completely from the foil in a drop and then reloaded. Simply drop the sail, leaving it all attached, flick the feeder open and clamp in shut again and ‘Hey Presto!’ you are ready to go again.



The pit man is then left to get on with more important jobs than tailing the halyard as the sail is re-loaded. It also helps the bowman – who now won’t be caught in that tricky ‘trying to re-load the jib with the tactician calling for an early gybe that he said he wasn’t going to do leaving you with lots of things unattached to the boat while up to your knees in the wake of the boat in front in 24 knots of breeze…probably’ situation.

That’s the regular benefit, the real bonus, and why YOU the owner should buy your bowman one for Christmas, is that the inevitable once a season *%$! up with the jib luff being “tangled in the balls” is solved without recourse to the knife, or one of the big blokes from the cockpit. Your happy bowman can just flick the feeder open, sort the crinkle out (which probably wasn't his fault anyway), and hoist away.

Word on the Amsterdam streets was that Holt are currently in production with their own version which should be available as a New Year’s gift. The principle differences are a slightly larger unit, with rolling balls, and a side hinge – leaving space for lashing it onto the forestay.

Price wise? Really…how much is a happy bowman worth!