LS STANDING RIGGING

Light Speed Rigging utilizes the most advanced materials and build techniques used in the aerospace industry to create rigging cables that are the best and most reliable in the world.

Light Speed utilizes three primary uni-directional fibers in building structural standing rigging.

Carbon Fiber, Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) and Zylon (PBO). These fibers have been exclusively chosen to provide product longevity that exceeds 15 years. Our Carbon Fiber standing rigging product is known as LS Carbon, our UHMWPE product is called LS Photon, and our PBO product is called LS Ion

Understanding the Differences Between LS Carbon, LS Ion and LS Photon

LS Carbon, LS Ion and LS Photon share several key advantages, including exceptional weight savings and long service life. The primary difference between these products lies in their dimensional stability, specifically their resistance to elastic elongation under load.

Elastic elongation is commonly expressed as EA, where E represents the Young’s modulus of the material and A represents the cable’s cross-sectional area. Young’s modulus is a measure of a material’s stiffness. LS Carbon and LS Ion offer higher EA values than LS Photon because carbon fibre and PBO have a higher Young’s modulus than UHMWPE. This difference in material stiffness is a key factor in distinguishing the performance characteristics and intended applications of each product.

How EA Values Compare to Traditional Rod Rigging

Nitronic 50 stainless steel has long been the material of choice for rod rigging and is widely regarded as an industry standard for performance yachts. Its EA value provides an important benchmark for yacht designers and spar builders when engineering a yacht’s rigging system.

LS Carbon and LS Ion are engineered to deliver EA values comparable to, and in some cases greater than, those of traditional rod rigging. This makes them particularly well suited to high-performance, race-oriented yachts where stiffness and dimensional stability are critical.

LS Photon, by comparison, offers EA values comparable to those of compact-strand wire rigging of equivalent size. This makes it an attractive option for performance cruising yachts, where significant weight savings and long service life are sought alongside the appropriate level of rigging stiffness.

In summary: LS Carbon and LS Ion are designed for sailors seeking the stiffness and performance associated with high-end racing rigging, while LS Photon offers an excellent alternative for performance cruising applications.

LS Photon

LS Carbon

LS Ion

Our structural cables are built from Carbon, Vectran, PBO and UHMWPE fibers. Customized termination, to fit any application.

FIBER RIGGING SOLUTIONS

LOWEST STRETCH, HIGHEST PERFORMANCE, LONGEST LIFESPAN, BEST VALUE.

Fully customizable, continuous or discontinuous, bare or sleeved, easy to retrofit or custom new builds.

Learn more about how carbon fiber rigging stacks up against the competition.

We are currently manufacturing solid Fiber standing rigging and structural cables, both flexible and semi rigid, which can be profiled for superior aerodynamics. We build cables from 300kg (660lb) up to 42,500kg (93,700lb) break loads.