The Hardware Handbook 2025 Recap issue

Aluminium Spar Production Increases

Throughout 2025, we have continued to expand and refine our aluminium spar production capability significantly. Our dinghy spar range has grown steadily. We now have the Solo dinghy mast and boom sections performing out on the racecourse, with overwhelmingly positive feedback on stiffness profiles, weight distribution and durability. Building on this success, development work is well underway for Fireball, 420, and 470 masts, all planned for release in 2026. These projects involve detailed testing to ensure each spar meets class tolerances while delivering the responsive bend characteristics sailors expect. On the keelboat side, our portfolio has also expanded to include spars for the Storm 18, Sonar, Etchells, Dragon, and Sunbeam classes. Each mast is manufactured in-house to maintain tight control over section geometry, heat treatment consistency, and weld strength — all critical factors for performance yachts operating under high loads.

All mast production takes place entirely in our Essex factory, where we’ve made substantial investments over the past two years. This includes:

- Automated TIG welding systems for precise, repeatable weld seams that improve structural integrity and reduce finishing time. - A custom-built heat-treatment oven, engineered specifically for long aluminium sections, allowing us to optimise temper, relieve internal stresses, and guarantee consistent alloy properties from top to heel. - New bending and tapering equipment, ensuring accurate, smooth tapers and controlled stiffness variations along the mast. - Upgraded CNC-machined goosenecks, heel plugs and cranes, designed and produced on-site to perfectly match each spar profile. This investment allows us to bring more spar production back into the UK, shorten lead times, and design products with a level of precision and repeatability that can be relied on. As we continue expanding our range, our goal is clear: to provide sailors and boatbuilders with reliable, high-performance aluminium spars that are engineered, manufactured and quality-checked entirely under one roof.

Check out the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at our factory, including spar manufacturing.

DAME Nomination

This year, our new High Performance Swivel Cleat was nominated for a DAME award at METS. At first glance, it may look like just another swivel cleat, but it’s actually a major improvement on anything currently available on the market. The design brief was simple: create a swivel cleat with zero wobble, providing precise cleating from any angle and at any distance from the cleat. This is a common issue with existing designs, where wear and tear on the swivel causes it to become unstable. Why is this so important? It solves a significant problem faced by top 49er sailors. As the swivel wears, it becomes more wobbly, and when attempting to uncleat the jib sheet before a bear-away or during a gust, the cleat can lift, causing the rope to stick. This forces sailors to try un-cleating two or three times, which is far from ideal when rounding a windward mark, holding onto the trapeze, and preparing for a spinnaker hoist! Our design is based on a proven swivel mechanism, similar to the mainsheet jammer, but with key upgrades. A wider bearing base ensures smooth rotation using ball bearings – something our competitors don’t offer. But we didn’t stop there. We also integrated a swivel for the fairlead sheaves, enabling them to align perfectly with the lead angle, ensuring smooth operation regardless of the cleat’s orientation. Through numerous design iterations, we realised that each sailor has a unique technique and requires a cleating angle tailored to their style. As a result, we made the cleat height adjustable. We developed a simple, repeatable system using wedges. By adding, removing, or swapping these wedges, sailors can easily customise the cleat’s sheeting angle to suit their preferences. While this may seem like a niche feature for elite sailors, we’ve found it’s also ideal for high-load control systems, such as keelboat vangs, which are often adjusted from various positions depending on wind conditions. As a result, we’ve created a larger version of the High Performance Swivel Cleat to meet this demand. Today, the High Performance Swivel Cleat is the OEM choice for 49ers, 29ers, and many 16ft skiffs. Chris from Sail Hub stopped by to check it out at METS – see below!

Skip to 7:50 for the A5866-77 review!