Masts
The logical progression into wooden masts
Collars association with wooden mast making began during the early 50's and it was simply a matter of logical progression. With all the necessary skills and techniques that had already been successfully applied to the oars, combined with the tremendous boom in sailing, a new market was established and Collars has never looked back.
During the early years, Collars were responsible for supplying spars to nearly every dinghy class around and this came with it's rewards. In 1968 Collars were presented with the immense task of supplying the masts for every team in the Finn class, competing in the Mexico Olympics of the same year. As a result, over 200 masts were produced; each checked for size and flexibility measured, making absolutely sure no one had the advantage.
Trying to produce identical masts is no easy feat. Wood varies considerably from one piece to the next with each tree having its own identity or fingerprints. It requires careful consideration in the selection of timber, as well as an eye for spotting the quirks of individual trees.
It is similar to guessing the contents of a book, by only looking at
the cover. Although
today Collars are still making a handful of dinghy mast each year, the
bulk of the smaller spars are for production gaff cutters built by
loyal customers such as Select Yachts'
Crabbers, Charlie Ward's
