__ pg Spars & Rigging Spars & Rigging
While the layman may see a romantic towering structure tilting towards the moon on a warm tropical night, the spars andrigging field is a highly complex one. The multitude of available
options can baffle even experienced sailors, and Rondal specia-lises in examining customer requirements and finding the right solution. Issues considered include the mast material, the correctsize, the number of spreaders and the type of support. Combiningthree decades of experience with the finest production facilities,Rondal can meet every requirement - from a crow's nest that travels 60 metres up the mast to a mast with in-mast topsail furlingand in-boom
mainsail furling.
YEARS OF INNOVATION
The year 1994 saw the development of a new stowing system for the
mainsail. While most yachts had conventional reefing systems, many owners were inclining towards push-button
sailing. Boom stowing systems were the answer and the firstRondal Rollaway Boom was built from carbon composites with theresin infusion method. This 14-metre boom was open at the topand housed an hydraulically powered rotating mandrel aroundwhich the sail furled. The Rondal system includes fixed reef positions with the option to tension the foot of the sail, a patentedsystem offering high performance, that remains unique today.
NEW FRONTIERS
By 1983, around 30 skilled staff were working at a new location with the capacity to build masts up to 55 metres in length(although few expected such sizes to ever actually be required).New developments included hydraulic furling systems for headsails as well as in-mast hydraulic furlers. An undoubted milestone in the history of Rondal came in1989 with the order for a 50-metre mast for ‘Endeavour’. This spectacular 39-metre J Class yacht was being refitted at the RoyalHuisman Shipyard. As the length of her mast and the requiredmoments of inertia meant an extruded mast would be too heavy,Rondal developed a new mast building technique that savedweight and lowered the mast's centre of gravity. The Endeavour
project proved the validity of reducing plate thickness higher upthe mast where less strength and stiffness is required. Fifteen yearson, Rondal is still the only manufacturer in the world able to buildmasts in this way.
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