NEW TPT PLOTTER TAKES SPAR ... - Southern Spars

DeCK
iSSue no. 34
NEW TPT PLOTTER TAKES SPAR
CONSTRUCTION TO NEW HEIGHTS
the use of thin ply technology, or tpt, carbon fi bre is taking spar
manufacturing at Southern Spars to new levels of strength and effi ciency.
The proprietary technology – owned by sister company North
Sails – enables the design and manufacture of products with
optimal ply angles for the loading situation at every point on a
mast or boom. The result: higher-performing, lighter and
stiffer spars.
Numerous rig packages have already been produced using TPT
at the company’s New Zealand and South African manufacturing
facilities, with TPT now used for virtually all custom-built race
rigs. TPT-based masts have been successful in competition with
the TP52 yachts Audi All4One, Azzurra and Ran IV, as well as
several other smaller one design classes.
Advances in using TPT for a wide range of projects saw the
decision to invest in a $US 1 million automated TPT plotter for
the new Custom Projects manufacturing facility in Auckland.
Prior to the installation of the new TPT plotting machine at the
purpose-built Auckland factory, the TPT fi bre was made on
a similar plotter in Switzerland and dispatched to the
relevant factory.
Southern Spars’ director Mark Hauser says the Swiss-built
automated plotter lays the fi ne strands of carbon fi bre
laminate more accurately and effi ciently than can be
achieved by hand.
“It is also possible to individually position pieces, rather than
being required to lay all adjacent plies parallel to one another as
we do with existing carbon fi bre laminate,” says Hauser.
“Layer upon layer can be built up, using whichever ply angles are
best for the loading situation at every point on the part. Add in
the possibilities for overlapping, multilayers, mixing different
fi bres and no restriction of fi bre length or orientation, and you
can see that we truly have attained a whole new level of design
and manufacturing expertise.”
The TPT tapes feature thinner plies and fi bres. “This effect
improves both the static strength properties – compressive
and tensile – as well as impact resistance, fatigue strength and
notched strength,” notes Hauser.
Commissioning of the TPT plotter took place around the same
time that Richard Lott stepped the role of Southern Spars
group managing director and CEO of Southern Spars
New Zealand.
Lott says the addition of the on-site TPT plotter provides yet
another level of effi ciency in the manufacturing process for
the Custom Projects team.
“The demand for larger and more technically-advanced
superyacht and grand prix race rigs continues,” says Lott.
“We’re at the forefront of industry developments with our
TPT technology and it’s exciting to see the potential for
effi ciency and precision in our manufacturing process with
the commissioning of this plotter.
“TPT is a signifi cant part of the future for Southern Spars and
the yachting world. The TPT plotter has enabled us to push
the boundaries of technology, design and performance once
again and this will be refl ected in many of our future projects,
incorporating TPT technology in their Southern Spars-built
spar and rig packages.”
SY Vertigo (Photo: Brendon O’Hagan)
Southern Spars’ R&D personnel Simon Turner and Nick Christensen
create a test piece on the new TPT plotter installed at Southern
Spars’ Auckland Custom Projects facility in late July 2011.
www.southernspars.com
(Photos: Southern Spars/Brendon O’Hagan)
iSSue no. 34

Smooth operation at new
nZ CuStom projeCtS faCility
Southern Spars’ Custom projects team is well-settled at their purpose-built
manufacturing facility in west auckland.
A big effort from many people saw manufacturing,
design and head office personnel come together at the
new site in Jomac Place, Avondale, Auckland from the
former Pakuranga and Freemans Bay sites. The new
facility includes 1250sq m of offices and 8,000sq m of
production space designed to accommodate the growing
demand for larger and more technically-advanced
superyacht and grand prix race rigs.
Since the move in November last year, production
manager Jeff Smith has been co-ordinating a few
improvements to the factory fit-out, the installation
and commissioning of a Kuka industrial robot and the
construction of an enclosed room for the new TPT plotter
(see front page story) alongside the intensity of the
current production schedule.
The six-axis Kuka KR-250 robot has proved a very
efficient addition to the ‘team’, doing in 30 to 40 minutes
what would take a person two days. The component
being machined is held, stationery, while the robot’s
working head can reach every facet of the component to
complete the specified tasks.
“The robot drills, trims and slots carbon, timber
and aluminium and presently we’re using it on small
components such as spreaders, gooseneck fittings,
(Photos: Southern Spars/Brendon O’Hagan)
eC6 rig ConVerSionS
intereSting projeCtS
for rig pro team
Southern Spars’ specialist rig
servicing group, rig pro, has
completed and is working on a
number of interesting rig refit
projects this year, including eC6
rig conversions in both the uS
and new Zealand.
Rig Pro Auckland manager Steve Cotton
says the team is preparing to update the
rigging for the Dubois-designed, Yachting
Developments-built, high performance
sloop SY Silvertip. “Scheduled for later
this year, Silvertip will have a full new set
of rigging made from our EC6 Continuous
carbon fibre product,” says MacDonald.
“This kind of refit project takes ten days
from start to finish and we’d expect her to
be back out testing the rig on the water
within two weeks.”
This year Rig Pro Auckland has also played
a part in the refit of one of the world’s
largest privately-owned sailing yachts,
Athena. The 90m (295.28 feet) three-
aBoVe DeCK
sheave boxes and mast heads,” says Smith. “For a
spreader to be drilled, trimmed and slotted, a worker
would have to measure it up, mark it out with tape
and then get into drilling, trimming and slotting in
separate time slots. Kuka can do it all at once through
sophisticated computer programmes taken from our
designers’ CAD drawings.”
Currently stage one of the robot set-up is operational
– the robot is stationary and can reach a 4x4m area.
Shortly stage two will be implemented, which sees the
robot placed on a 50m track so it can move along the
track to drill, trim and slot entire mast sections in
one operation.
Smith adds: “The aim is to start off small and move into
large sections, from spreaders, then booms and masts,
Kuka will do it all and add a whole new layer of efficiency
and accuracy to our manufacturing process.”
masted schooner was launched in 2004.
The refit included un-stepping her three
masts and bowsprit with non-destructive
testing of all standing rigging. Her masts
and booms were stored under cover in
Rig Pro’s Brigham Street yard where she
received a full repaint and comprehensive
service of every sheave and fitting.
Meanwhile, over in San Diego, California,
Chuck Brown and the Rig Pro US crew
is gearing up for a full rig service on
the classically-lined, Vitters-built sloop
Erica XII. After a full rig inspection, the
Hoek-designed yacht her boom, mast and
spreaders will be thoroughly checked over
while her furlers and hydraulic cylinders
are removed and serviced. Once complete,
Erica XII will be ready for many more
seasons of extensive sailing.
The 44m Dubois-Fitzroy sloop Artemis
(formerly Salperton) is also heading to
Rhode Island where she’ll be getting a
partial conversion to EC6 Hybrid rigging,
replacing the current PBO components.
The new
Kuka robot
in action
Cranes lowering mast onto cradles after un-stepping
one of the three Athena Masts
“The Palma de Mallorca-based RSB Rig
Pro team has also been busy this year,”
adds manager Steve Branagh. “A full refit
on the 52m sloop Red Dragon – designed
by Wilmotte & Associates and built by
Alloy Yachts in 2008 – has been one major
project and they’ve also been working on
the 43m Koo, the 52m Konkardia and the
multi-regatta winning Highland Fling XI.”
2011 WORLD
SUPERYACHT
AWARDS
Southern Spars would like to congratulate all involved with
SY Zefira, which won the Sailing Yacht of the Year and the
Best Sailing Yacht in the 45m+ range at this year’s World
Superyacht Awards. She has a complete Southern Spars
rig package with EC6 hybrid rigging.
Special mention also goes to SY Kokomo for receiving
the judges’ special award and SY Twizzle for receiving the
judges’ commendation.
SY Imagine II was the first superyacht to be fitted with a
complete set of Southern Spars hybrid rigging and won
the Best Sailing Yacht in the 30m-44.99m range. SY Lady
B also received the judges’ commendation for sailing
yachts in the 30m-44.9m range.
All these winners sport a full Southern Spars mast and
boom package, with most of them also carrying Southern
Spars EC6 rigging, making this year’s World Superyacht
Awards a major success for Southern Spars.
SY Zefira (Photo: Courtesy of Fitzroy Yachts)
SY Imagine II (Photo: Courtesy of Alloy Yachts)
Around the world, Rig Pro has also
commissioned numerous significant yachts
this year, including the superyachts Vertigo
and the Panamax Project now christened
Hetarios, the Tripp 42 Sarissa, the J Class
Endeavour and a Dixon 100, most of which
are also mentioned in this edition of
Above Deck.

Southern SCoreCarD
auDi meD Cup
Fully equipped with a Southern Spars rig and EC6
composite rigging, Emirates Team New Zealand obtained
back-to-back victory in the 2010 TP52 Audi Med Cup
series. Southern Spars wishes all the teams competing in
the 2011 series the best of luck as they head into the final
event in Barcelona.
rolex SyDney to hoBart
Congratulations to Bob Oatley and his crew for securing
line honours victory for the fifth time on his Southern
Spars-rigged Wild Oats XI.
BarCelona worlD raCe
Southern Spars would once again like to congratulate
Virbac-Paprec 3 team, Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron
on their outstanding victory in the 25,000nm 2010/11
Barcelona World Race.
leS VoileS De Saint Barth
George David’s Rambler 100’, powered by Southern Spars,
received overall victory in the Les Voiles de Saint Barth,
closely followed by Hugo Stenbeck’s Genuine Risk in second.
auDi mapfre Copa Del rey
Southern Spars-rigged Bribón won the 30th Copa del Rey
Audi Mapfre in her farewell to the Majorcan regatta. José
CuÍ’s TP52 Bribón’s farewell couldn’t have been sweeter;
with a 4.5 point advantage over second-placed Container.
DuBoiS Cup
SY Timoneer’s Southern Spars rigs may have been stepped
last century, but the Dubios-designed ketch showed her
younger rivals, including the newly-launched Zefira, how
it’s done in what turned out to be a nail-biter Dubois Cup
that could have gone either way right down to the wire.
Timoneer finished first, with Zefira in third.
lora piana SuperyaCht regatta
The winner of this year’s regatta and the Silver Jubilee
Cup from Boating International Media went to Southern
Spars-rigged Highland Fling XI.
tranSatlantiC raCe
George David’s Southern Spars-rigged Rambler added
another record to her belt, as she smashed the transatlantic
record with an elapsed time of 6 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes
and 2 seconds. The previous record was held by Mike Slade’s
ICAP Leopard which finished the 2,925nm crossing in seven
days, 19 hours and 21 minutes.
rolex faStnet raCe
Southern Spars-rigged Rán IV took a historic back-to-back
victory in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race. Following her 2009
Fastnet victory, Niklas Zennström’s Rán was once again the
overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race and the prestigious
Fastnet Challenge Cup. This is a massive win for the team as
they became the first back-to-back winners since Carina II in
1955/1957.
maxi yaCht rolex Cup
Southern Spars-rigged yachts achieved impressive results
across all four divisions in the 2011 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
Niklas Zennström’s Rán obtained their second successive
triumph in the Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds and Sir Irvine Laidlaw’s
82-ft Highland Fling scored overall victory in the Maxi Racing
division, closely followed by Igor Simic’s bigger and faster
100-ft Esimit Europa 2 (SLO).
Southern farr 400 Sy hetairoS
(Photo: Premier Composite Technologies)
Highland Fling XI
New to Southern Spars One Design is the
newly launched Farr 400. This is the first
production-built one design rig that comes
standard with a custom two-piece carbon
mast, as well as a full set of EC6 composite
rigging. The Southern Spars rig features
optimised topmast runner placement and
the ability to split it into two for transport
to regattas. This rig showcases the strength
of the North Sails’ Membrain and Southern
Spars’ RigCalc interface – the rig package and
sails package are perfectly suited.
The designers were serious about keeping
weight out of the boat – anything that
they couldn’t make out of carbon has been
stripped down to the bare essentials, and the
boat features some slick systems such as the
spinnaker take-up system down below and the
racing pedestal, which ensures that hoists are
always done at high speed. Reports from the
Conde De Godo Trophy in Barcelona indicate
the Farr 400 has serious pace.
Production continues at the Dubai factory,
with plans to produce a boat a month and
create their own One Design circuit as soon as
they have their numbers up. Pete Shaw from
Southern Spars Cape Town sums up the boat
in one word: “impressed”.
Check out the great pictures on the Farr 400
website www.farr400.com
Virbac-Paprec 3 (Photo: C Lewis)
Rán IV (Photo: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)
The 197ft (66.7m) SY Hetairos has set many new
benchmarks in superyacht construction. It is,
for example, the largest yacht that has been
built from carbon fibre composite to date.
The owner’s brief was to build the largest
and fastest yacht that would still be capable
of navigating the Panama Canal and its
height-limiting Bridge of the Americas.
She sports a full Southern Spars rig
package, a 62.5m high modulus main
mast with a Code Zero lock that is
capable of locking up to 40 tonnes;
– the biggest Southern Spars has
yet designed. There is a very
small window for clearance
under the Panama Bridge
and, because of this, the
equipment on top of both
the main and mizzen
masts, such as aerials,
have been designed
to be removable.
iSSue no. 34

eC6 ContinuouS rigging
a proVen winner
the science behind Southern Spars’ eC6 Continuous carbon fi bre rigging is now
well-proven with eight intensive years of high performance yachting highlighting
the technology’s benefi ts on the water.
EC6 is fi rmly established as the fi rst reliable carbon
rigging product in the market, as well as the fi rst
continuous carbon fi bre rigging. More importantly,
EC6 features in an increasing number of victories
across the fi nish line.
Tony Reaper, sales manager for Southern Spars’
specialised rigging business Composite Rigging based
in Rhode Island, USA, says: “EC6 rigging has been fi tted
now to almost one hundred rigs, from 11ft Moths up to
200ft-plus superyachts and it has contributed to some
of yachting’s great achievements.”
Reaper notes that all seven VO70s, including winner
Ericsson 4, completed the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race
using EC6 Continuous rigging with no major incidents
to report. Virbac-Paprec 3 won the 2010/2011 edition of
the race with EC6 continuous rigging, proving that
EC6 technology really is the most advanced rig
setup around.
“It will be no surprise that the new Volvo 70s – Puma,
Telefonica and Camper – will utilise our EC6 Continuous
rigging technology for the 2011/12 event starting in
November from Alicante, Spain.”
Southern SparS
gearing up for
VolVo oCean raCe
Leading teams preparing for the 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean
Race, such as Team New Zealand’s Camper and Spain’s Team
Telifónica, are working with Southern Spars to take their spar
technology to new levels.
After all, fi ve of the seven teams, including overall winner
Ericsson 4 and runner-up Puma, which completed the
2008/2009 race utilised competitive mast and rig packages
from Southern Spars.
The Volvo Ocean Race is said to be the ‘Everest of sailing’;
it pushes man and boat to the absolute limit. The team at
Southern Spars ensures that the rigs are designed and
built to the highest possible standards, utilising all current
technologies and customising the package according to the
requirements of each team.
Every detail on this year’s Southern Spars’ VO70 rigs has been
scrutinised for aerodynamic drag reduction from head to deck.
Director Mark Hauser says: “Both Camper and Telifónica
sport a 31.1m (102ft) high modulus carbon fi bre mast with
EC6 shrouds and internal tangs. Puma Ocean Racing is also
utilising Southern Spars’ EC6 Composite rigging which has
already been proven in the 2008/2009 race where, as all
seven Southern Spars-rigged teams used the company’s
patented EC6 Continuous carbon fi bre.”
The team from Southern Spars will be right in the middle
of the action for the Auckland stopover between Friday
ContaCt DetailS
South paCifiC
Custom projects and one Design:
15 Jomac Place, Rosebank,
Auckland 1026, New Zealand
PO Box 71020, Rosebank Mail Centre,
Avondale, Auckland 1348, New Zealand
telephone: +64 (0)9 845 7200
rig pro:
23 Westhaven Drive, Freemans Bay
Auckland 1010, New Zealand
phone: +64 9 355 1565
aBoVe DeCK
europe
Bergensvej 6:
6230 Rødekro, Denmark
phone: +45 74 62 00 60
meDiterranean
rig pro: Paseo Maritimo s/n, Club de
Mar Palma Mallorca, 07015, Spain
phone: +34 971 495 931
EC6 Continuous rigging is also making its presence felt
in the superyacht sector with the 2010 launching of SY
Twizzle marking a signifi cant milestone for Composite
Rigging. The Dubois-designed ketch carries a 53.6m
main mast and 46.51m mizzen mast which featured,
at the time, the largest EC6 continuous rigging system
fi tted by the Rhode Island team.
Since then, Reaper says, the Composite Rigging crew is
excited to have eclipsed that milestone with the stepping
of SY Vertigo, a Briand-designed 66m ketch built at Alloy
Yachts, with EC6 Hybrid rigging.
“In all aspects of rigging size, length and complexity,
Vertigo has surpassed any other vessel built to date,” says
Reaper. “Vertigo sports an enormous Southern Spars rig
package with a 64m main mast and a 48m mizzen, both
with EC6 Hybrid rigging. This achievement could not have
been possible without the skilled workers at Composite
Rigging’s Sri Lanka facility. At twice the size of our Rhode
Island facility, Southern Spars International has a fi rst-rate
operation and is producing the EC6 product to a very high
standard and with incredible speed and accuracy that is
second to none.”
8 March and Sunday 18 March. “We’ll have a site in the
Volvo Ocean Race village,” adds Hauser. “We’re also
offering full tours of our Customs Projects facility just
fi fteen minutes from the Volvo Ocean Race village in
Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.”
north atlantiC
Composite rigging: 342 Compass Circle,
B-4, North Kingston RI 02852, USA
phone: +1 401 268 3972
fax: +1 401 268 3975
rig pro: 14 Regatta Way, Suite 3,
Portsmouth, RI 02871, USA
phone: +1 401 683 6966
atlantiC oCean
22 Bolt Avenue, Montague Gardens,
Milnerton 7435, Cape Town, South Africa
phone: +27 21 555 3470
email: info@southernspars.com compositerigging@southernspars.com rigpro@southernspars.com
All material in this publication is copyright to Southern Spars Ltd and/or its contributors. Any further use or reproduction
of images or content is not permitted without prior permission from Southern Spars head offi ce.
Camper is ready for the 2011/12 Volvo
Ocean Race (Photo: Courtesy of
Emirates Team New Zealand)
reCent projeCtS
antareS iii
Dixon 30m (98ft)
Dixon Yacht Design/Yachting
Developments Ltd
mast loa: 41.928m
Boom length: 12.592m
Camper
Volvo 70
Marcelino Botín/Cookson Boats
mast loa: 31.1m
Boom loa: 8.5m
hetairoS
66.7m(197ft) performance ketch
Dykstra & Partners, Reichel/
Pugh Yacht Design/Baltic Yachts
mast loa: Main 62.5m, Mizzen 57.3m
Boom loa: Main 15.8m, Mizzen 14.3m
highlanD fling
Reichel Pugh IRC 52
Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design/
McConaghy’s Boats
mast loa: 24.5m (80ft)
Boom loa: 7m (23ft)
SariSSa
Tripp 42m (137.5ft) performance cruiser
Tripp Yacht Design/Vitters Shipyard
mast loa: 56m (183.5ft)
Boom loa: 19.5m (64ft)
Vertigo
67.2m (220ft) cruising ketch
Phillipe Briand Yacht Design/
Alloy Yachts
mast loa: main 69m (226ft),
mizzen 62m (203ft)
Boom loa: main 17.5m (57.4ft),
mizzen 16.1m (52.8ft)
SY Vertigo (Photo: Brendon O’Hagan)
Composite Rigging has a lot on the calendar over the
next year, producing EC6 rigging for two J-Class yachts,
Endeavour and Rainbow, and superyachts such as two
Wally 100s, a Perini Navi 40m and G50 from Fitzroy
Yachts. Also in the production mix are two Open 60s,
Mirabaud and Bertrand Stamm, the IRC 52 Highland Fling
and several AC45 catamarans, all of which will be fi tted
with EC6 Continuous rigging.
Antares III: Yachting
Developments
Camper:
Team NZ
Hetairos:
Baltic Yachts
Sarissa:
Vitter’s Shipyard
Vertigo: Alloy Yachts