The advice to have a boat that always performs
Rigger Davide Fuzzi’s passion is “putting the right thing in the right place.” He can do that on your boat, too
How do you win regattas? With a good boat, sure, with a trained and close-knit crew, for sure, with the right sails and equipment, no doubt, but what makes the difference above all is attention to detail. We are talking, in this case, about rigging and details that are able to improve the performance but also the safety of boats.
WHAT IS FUZZI RIGGING
Behind Fuzzi Rigging is the business of Davide Fuzzi, an experienced rigger and sailor who had-at a very young age-a chance to work in what is arguably the most important context of world sailing: the America’s Cup.
After a career as a sailor, coupled with a passion for rigging, at the age of 20 Davide is basically at a crossroads: continue with sailing as a professional sportsman or make his passion a job? If we are here today to talk about him you will have understood what the choice was. And so he begins with his business, and not yet 30 years old in 2012 he is catapulted into Luna Rossa’s shore team in San Francisco Bay to work on the AC45 that will participate in the America’s Cup World Series and on the AC72 that will make it all the way to the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, then lost to New Zealand. The time spent with the team will be a key training ground for him to understand the importance of precise, proven and perfectly researched work, and here we return to the attention to detail we were talking about at the beginning.
Davide’s job is this: to try to make your boat more efficient from the point of view of managing loads, friction and maneuvering, studying the best modifications to the deck plan and making his own little laboratory-what he thinks is best installed on board.
HOW IT WORKS.
One of Davide Fuzzi’s special features is the use of unidirectional Dyneema fibers, which have a very low elongation even when under high loads. In addition to this advantage, working with unidirectional also has another great merit and that is the (almost) exact prediction of the breaking loads and the real elongation (in millimeters) of a cable under load. Ten loops made with braided ropes, even if structurally identical, will have an approximate breaking load but will never all break under the same load because different variables intervene in the wear and tear that affect the calculations. Ten loops in unidirectional, on the other hand, will all always break the same, with a much more accurate degree of approximation.
In addition to lines of all types (racing, cruising, mooring), loops, lockstrop and rigging, Fuzzi Rigging can supply everything you need on deck. From the replacement of drapes to stays, backstays, bobstays and lifelines, and even eyebolts-all strictly textile. The soft padeyes in particular are machined with an ultra-lightweight carbon base and a specially made textile top; they bond with polyurethane or structural adhesive and provide a working load of up to 190 kg (breaking at 385 kg).
Advice from Fuzzi Rigging-which works with brands such as Harken and Gottifredi Maffioli-starts with an analysis of the boat and the loads of each maneuver, but it also covers another very important aspect, however, which is how to couple the hardware installed on deck with the lines. How do you mean? Just to give two examples: if you choose kevlar sock ropes you will need a stopper with ceramic cams, if the sock is made of Technora or other aramid fibers you need to pay attention to the type of your winch.
Those who rely on Davide find an expert craftsman, ready to follow the experienced and “geeky” shipowner by dialoguing with him in search of the best solutions, or able to offer the less experienced shipowner a range of proposals from which to evaluate and choose according to his needs.
Sailor-rigger Davide Fuzzi has managed to make his passion for rigging a job in his workshop on the Adriatic Sea.
AT WORK ON SUPER BOATS
Davide Fuzzi has been involved in the rigging and preparation of several top-level boats for international circuits and regattas. He has worked on several racing boats in the TP 52 class such as Provezza, whose team he has been a member of to prepare the boat to the best of its ability during the sporting seasons.
FUZZI RIGGING: TAILOR-MADE REALIZATIONS AND ACCORDING TO THE OWNER’S REQUESTS
In these images some of the processing done by Davide Fuzzi using unidirectional Dyneema fibers. The workings are all customized, such as by load, length, and color.
