Bespoke work away from masts and oars

With a proven pedigree in the world of wooden yacht masts and oars, our skills and knowledge have often been called upon within similar industries. As a glue-lam specialist and with the flexibility and facilities to take on a wide range of projects, diversification has become common place.

With the growing demand for traditional and sustainable materials within modern architecture, internal and external columns, both structural and cosmetic, have become regular work to satisfy this growing market. With the ability to turn almost any size of column from a variety of materials, there is little we cannot accommodate. 

The link below will highlight some of the bespoke projects we have undertaken over the years. 

The logical progression into wooden masts

Over the years Collars' spars have been used in Olympic competition, crossed all of the worlds Oceans, and can be found on nearly all wooden sparred production boats ever made. With a capacity of producing any wooden mast or spar up to 100' in length....

Oars

Having made our name in producing the finest quality wooden rowing oars for crews throughout the world, it is hardly surprising that we are still producing a comprehensive range today. At the lower end of the range are the standard wooden oars, offering quality and value for everyday use. Using the skills from three generations of the Collar family, a pair of Spruce spoon or skiff oars can be produced individually to the customer's requirements.

Flagpoles

Whether looking to replace an historical flagpole, or raising a celebratory flag, our pedigree in producing the finest quality wooden masts for over 80 years makes Collars the obvious choice for making any flagpole. Using the finest quality timber available, our skilled craftsmen are able turn by hand, any size or configuration required. With our bespoke service, we will guide you throughout the complete process, from an initial consultation to erecting the finished product.

Projects

With a history dating back over 80 years, we have produced mast and spars for some of the most beautiful yachts in existence. Specialising in producing the finest quality yacht masts and spars, we pride ourselves on a personal, tailored service and maintain a close and constant contact with our customers. From the critical choice of timber to the final stages of smoothing and varnishing, a Collars product has over eighty years of experience and expertise put into it, making us the number one choice time and time again.

The following links are a small selection of the some of projects we have been proud to be part of in recent years.

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Our own Varnish Test

varnish test

Over the last 10 years we have probably at some point in time used nearly every product on the market as we offer a personal choice to the customer since they will be the one rubbing down and recoating in years to come.

With this experience we have developed firm favourites but mainly based on ease of application rather than durability, and with this in mind we thought it may be a good idea to build up a bit more foundation to our likes. It is hard to pick up a yachting magazine without some sort of test on varnish, but putting little bits of marine ply in the sun for a period is for us, not a true refection of how the varnish performs on a solid Sitka Spruce spar.

So - a new but slightly less than perfect spar was pulled out of production, marked in foot sections and 8 different varnish systems were applied as per their recommended instructions, and put on the roof of the workshop exposed to the elements, and left it there for two and a half years.

Although it could be considered there was little control with this test, the results backed up our beliefs and gave us the reassurance we were after. For a passing note, we would verge towards a varnish that contains Chinese wood oils - or Tung oils - as it not only provides a rich golden colour but it's been used to protect and preserve wood for thousands of years so has stood the test of time.

1. Epifanes Clear Varnish with Extra UV - Faired very well, slight dulling from UV damage but completely intact and serviceable. 
2. Ravilakk High Gloss Boat Varnish - The side exposed to UV was intact but suffered a little from oxidation.
3. Blakes Favourite Varnish - Patches of varnish left still gloss, but also areas of blistered varnish
4. Sikkens Cetol HLS Plus and Filter 7 - UV side has a little bit of degradation. 
5. Blakes Dura Gloss Varnish - Largely back to bare timber as varnish has not performed well
6. Rylard One Pack P.U. Varnish - Almost completely deteriorated and no varnish left 
7. Blakes Classic Varnish - Again large areas of bare timber but faired better on the underside protected from UV.
8. Seajet UV Varnish - The surprise in the test. Stood up very well and almost completely intact on both sides.

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