Manufactured For Speed
Southern Spars strives to bring the same degree of rigour to yacht rigs that winning teams bring to Formula 1 race cars. We use the ultimate in carbon fibre technology and have invested in the most high-tech mast manufacture facility in the world to create the finest carbon masts in the world.
Ultra Ply Plus
Our thin ply carbon fibre not only gives us supreme design freedom, but it has documented benefit of benefits over the standard thickness carbon fibre. Using many fine layers instead of fewer thicker ones gives carbon fibre better resistance to crack propagation, impact, cyclic fatigue as well as improved notch strength and superior performance under compression and tension. All of these qualities make for a better final product and a mast that will perform better and last longer.
This manufacturing technology has given us the opportunity for the following illustrative weight savings:
- 6-10% in a mast
- 8-12% in a boom
- 10-25% in spreaders
Dedicated Manufacturing Facility
Southern Spars HQ in Auckland, New Zealand is the only specifically designed mast manufacturing facility in the world. It spans 10,000 square metres and features enclosed manufacturing areas that create the optimum conditions for carbon fibre manufacturing. We have several temperature, humidity and pressure controlled rooms for material storage, cutting, lamination and painting, that ensures our masts are the highest quality. Our autoclave, at 55 metres long, is the second longest in the Southern Hemisphere and our paint booth at 65 metres long, is the longest.
Our quality standards are extremely high. We have a meticulous quality control system refined over 25 years. We use LEAN manufacture to ensure organisation, traceability and consistency. We train our staff in best practice and have over 300 Standard Operating Procedures to ensure each detail is carefully executed.
Two-Piece Moulding
Our masts are manufactured using two-piece female moulds. This allows us to access the inside of the masts which reaps a host of benefits. All of our reinforcing can be added internally, which makes the mast wall lighter, as compression tubes are fitted in areas of high load which is more efficient than adding more material to the outside of the mast.
Our internal patching is placed with the highest degree of accuracy on the inside of the mast, leaving the outside face of the mast perfectly smooth and as aerodynamic as possible.
Having access to the inside of the mast, before the shells are joined, means we can efficiently bond in our internal components like halyard locks and sheaves, as well as leading halyards and conduits for electrical wires.