There has been a rising interest in rigging made from PBO, (not carbon) because it is so light and strong, but what exactly is PBO?

PBO has been on the market for 8 years now and is produced in Japan, the material is best compared with the better known Kevlar fiber. However PBO can be visually distinguished by the fact that it is browner in colour. It is produced in strands which consist of 2000 microfibers, these strands are endlessly wound around 2 end fittings.

The breaking strength is 600kg/mm2 which is 3 times stronger than high tensile steel, which normal rigging is made from, and is about 6 times lighter, also the stretch under load is 0.1 to 0.15% !!! This is 30% less than dyform.

Because the production of very thin rigging gave a lot of technical problems, it has only been used on big racing yachts, and until now could not meet the demands of performance racing dinghies. i.e. it cannot be knotted or spliced. On top of this the distribution of the load is of paramount as you only need so little of it to be strong enough.

Because of these properties it is not possible to produce a quality product without specialist machinery. The fibers are very smooth and robust, but like Kevlar it is susceptible to ultra violet light and for that reason it is shielded by a thin and special FEP coating.

As a world first, it is now possible for the SmartRigging company based in Joure, The Netherlands, to produce the smaller gauges of rigging, comparable to regular rigging of 2mm upwards.

The PBO rigging is marketed under the name Easyrigging. The total diameter is about the same as normal rigging, but the surface is smooth, therefore less drag. The diameter is influenced by the extra coat which consumes a large proportion of the total size. Given the unique material properties and the specialist production methods it is now possible to achieve a spectacular weight saving up to 70% and sometimes higher for a full set of rigging. In addition, as the weight saving is in the air the reduction ultimately leads to a faster boat as the ship becomes less top heavy.

Because the market for performance dinghies/catamarans is a totally different environment to the world of ocean racing yachts. Worldwide sales of Easyrigging has been awarded to T.B.Pesa, an experienced company that has been producing Carbon masts for beach catamarans for many years, therefore it is now easier to coordinate the sales and to provide the end-customer with good advice and service.