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If you race an ILCA, your kicker, downhaul and outhaul are the three control lines you touch most. You pull them, ease them and trim them constantly across a race. So it pays to get them right. This guide walks through what spliced rigging actually is, why it makes a difference on the water, and how to choose a setup that suits the way you sail.
When you buy an ILCA spliced rigging system from Sailing Chandlery, it arrives perfectly configured, ready to go, and made to measure for your ILCA rig. There is nothing to tie, nothing to guess at, and nothing to set up. You add it to the boat and you sail.
The bigger reason to splice comes down to strength. A splice is stronger than a knot, and that matters with slippery fibres. Take a 12 strand Dyneema rope: tie a knot in it and there is real potential for that knot to slip or work loose. Picture that happening at a crucial point in your race. You stop, you fix it, and by the time you are racing again you have handed places to the fleet around you. A fully spliced system removes that risk. You know it is good to go and the splices will hold in place as they should.
There is also the simple fact that a properly spliced setup looks smart on the boat. For a lot of sailors, that finished, race-ready look is part of the appeal.
These are the three systems sailors come to us for, and we offer plenty of choice across all of them.
The kicker (vang) controls leech tension and keeps the boom down once you ease the mainsheet, which is what holds your sail shape downwind and on the reaches. The most common kicker setup uses a Harken kicker base, a high load Allen block at the top, and a double block in the middle. It is a proven configuration that gives you the purchase you need without fuss.
The downhaul (Cunningham) pulls tension down the luff to flatten the sail and open the leech as the breeze builds. This is where purchase ratio really matters, and we cover the options below from 6:1 to 10:1.
The outhaul controls the depth of the sail along the foot. You can have your outhaul set up for the centre of the boom or the front of the boom, depending on your preference and how you like to lead your ropes and controls.
Across all three, you choose your blocks, your rope, and your configuration. Blocks and Pulleys are available from Harken, Allen or Ronstan. Ropes come from Marlow or Gottifredi Maffioli, a Kingfisher product, with several colour options to match your boat. And you choose between medium load and high load options. Medium load is what comes as standard on a new boat. The high load options give you improved performance and more purchase when you need it.
The clearest way to understand why this matters is to sail two boats back to back.
My son did exactly that recently in a Topper. He had been sailing a club boat, which is the kind of boat put together as a cheaper option for members to use with various bits and bobs to keep it sailing. It works, but it is rarely set up in the best possible way. Then he sailed a brand new Topper, fully race rigged. He noticed the difference straight away, and his performance improved with it.
The same applies to ILCAs and Lasers. Take a club boat with a basic or older setup, then move to an upgraded setup that has been configured to work properly across all conditions, with the right measurements and the right lengths. The difference is huge. You get full adjustment, full range, and systems that work every time you ask. The boat performs, and the hassle disappears.
Selling to ILCA sailors day in and day out, the same problems come up again and again.
The biggest is not getting the purchase right for the setup, whether that is for the sailor's weight or the rig they are sailing. Too little purchase and you simply cannot pull on what you need on a windy day.
The second is choosing budget rope. Your kicker, downhaul and outhaul are control lines you adjust constantly, and cheap rope burns through quickly under that kind of constant adjustment.
The third is length. Too much rope in the boat and it catches somewhere, drags around and gets in your way. Get the lengths wrong the other way and you run out of adjustment when you need it most.
Modern ropes are good. Buy from a major manufacturer and you are getting a quality product. The choice is about matching the rope to the job.
For frequently adjusted lines, we recommend Marlow GP78. It has Technora in the cover, which makes it harder wearing and more resistant to heat, exactly what you want on lines that run through cleats and blocks all race long. It also comes with a colour matched core, which looks great if you care about getting your boat looking its best.
The other options are excellent too: Dyneema cores with hardwearing polyester jackets, and 12 strand Dyneema that we have tested ourselves against others on the market to make sure you are getting the best available.
Here is how to think through the main decisions.
Downhaul purchase. This depends on your rig and your weight. On an ILCA 4 a 6:1 works, though a lighter sailor will likely want an 8:1. On the ILCA 6, 8:1 is the standard. On the ILCA 7, the largest rig, 8:1 has long been standard but 10:1 is fast becoming the norm because of the power in that sail.
Outhaul configuration. Most sailors go for centre of boom, and that is the standard we would point you towards unless you have a reason to run it from the front.
Kicker. The standard that works for most sailors is a Harken kicker base, a high load Allen block at the top, and a double block in the middle.
Blocks and rope. This is where personal preference comes in. Harken and Allen are strong choices, and the rope decision comes down to how hard you sail and how much you care about the finish on your boat.
If you are not sure, talk to us about the kind of sailing you do. We will make a recommendation that fits.
How long a system lasts depends entirely on how much you sail. A full time sailor will replace systems far more often than a club sailor heading out for a couple of races on a Sunday.
The key for any sailor is maintenance. Rinse your systems with fresh water regularly, and work the blocks while the hose is on them so you flush out any salt or grit getting into the bearings.
Then check your rope, and do it often. Rope wears in the same places. If you always pull your kicker on to the max, that same section sits in the cleat every time and naturally wears. So look it over before and after every sail once you have rinsed it, and make sure everything is moving and flowing as it should.
If you have lost your usual supplier for ILCA rigging and parts, we can pick up where they left off.
Sailing Chandlery has been splicing ropes and building systems for years, and every new boat we send out is fully rigged and ready to go. Our aim is simple: to get you back on the water as quickly as possible. Order before 2pm and your order is dispatched the same day, with the choice of next day delivery when you need it urgently.
We take pride in the quality of the work and the speed of the service, and we turn custom rigging around as fast as we can. The goal is to get it in your hands, ready to go on the water for your next sail.
As a Devoti ILCA dealer, we send new boats out with a basic setup direct from Devoti. Many club sailors are happy with that standard package, the blocks and ropes it comes with, as they get used to the boat and start sailing it.
From there, you can upgrade. Spliced rigging, your choice of blocks, your choice of rope: each is an upgrade on the standard boat package, and the complete spliced solution for your kicker, outhaul and downhaul is a popular one. The extra parts we offer go out with most boats.
You do not need a new boat to get there, either. The same race-ready setup can go onto the hull you already own. The best thing to do is speak to us about your type of sailing and what you are hoping to do, and we will recommend what we think should be on your boat.
If you are racing, getting competitive, and out there in a competitive fleet, put the best kit on your boat. It goes a long way.
You only have to look at the sailors at the front of the fleet to see it. They have upgraded their blocks. They have upgraded their systems. They are running spliced lines. So if you are serious about racing, or simply about making your boat faster and easier to sail, invest in your rigging for your ILCA.
