Technology
Starting from the top
Perfectly matching rig, rigging and superyacht at the first attempt takes on new meaning when the key suppliers can be many thousands of miles apart from each other
A close working relationship between a builder and suppliers is important whatever the size of vessel, and the rapport between a mastmaker and boatbuilder is a crucial one where millimetres can define the difference between success and stress. In our super-connected world, the geographical challenge for two such operations might be considered to be one of pure logistics, but when it is Hall Spars and Southern Wind Shipyard, the distance between the two facilities means that getting things right first time aboard a yacht that will be over the horizon in days is not just desirable, but crucial. Southern Wind’s fifth SW105,
Sørvind exemplifies this. Like many that emerge from the Cape Town facility, her first passage was to the Mediterranean. ‘While we treat all our clients with the same detailed level of attention and support throughout the entire process, with Southern Wind we are always very conscious that the first voyage for many of their yachts will be a 7,500nm passage from South Africa
the
most recent Southern Wind 105, , is
optimised for performance in light airs. She has a larger-than- standard sailplan with a high- modulus carbon mast and boom custom made by Hall Spars
to Europe. For any new 100-footer that's a big ask which focusses minds on all sides,’ says Hall Spars’ project manager Alex Runciman. ‘Very few boatyards faced with
such a big maiden passage would be prepared to say yes to a trip like this after just a couple of test sails. But for us, this is the reality and it sets the bar high from the start. But it also says much about two of the key characteristics of a Hall Spars rig, namely precision and reliability. ‘The physical distance between
Hall Spars in the Netherlands and Southern Wind in Cape Town make both absolutely essential. The rig has to fit perfectly first time and it has to be totally reliable.’ But it’s not as simple as that. The
complete rig with its carbon spars and composite standing rigging still needs to deliver the weight savings and low centre of gravity that make a modern composite rig the go-to for performance yachts. Here, Hall Spars’ considerable experience in spar-building, along with its position within the North Technology Group,
which also includes Future Fibres, places it among the most advanced companies in the marine world. And while on the face of it carbon spars may look the same, under the skin Hall Spars are distinctly different. ‘Our spars are built on an aluminium male mandrel using our seamless technology,’ Runciman continues. ‘This means that unlike other manufacturers we do not have a join along the front or the sides of a mast tube that has been built in two halves in female moulds. Instead, we create the tube by wrapping the laminates around a male mandrel in a range of different orientations from those on the zero axis, which are in line with the mast and run from the bottom to the top, to 45s which run orthogonally across the tube and then 90s, which run transversely or in hoop direction. From there, we add patch laminates onto the tube to create the strain relief around key stress points on the spar such as the spreader and shroud attachment areas.’ This seamless tube is also a very
SEAHORSE 79
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GIULIANO SARGENTINI/SOUTHERN WIND
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