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.

Flag poles

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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How to: Using epoxy to secure a fixing.

epoxy Although Sitka Spruce is the perfect material when it comes to making a yacht mast, it is sometimes difficult to secure fastenings due to its low density. This can become problematic considering the high sheer or peel loads upon fittings such as outhaul tracks and pad eyes, but there are ways to overcome this using one of two simple techniques.


epoxy

Epoxy Dowels.

The idea of this is instead of simply screwing the fitting on with a wood screw directly into the wood, the fastening is replaced with a self tapper that is screwed into a plug of epoxy. No part of the screw is in direct contact with the timber and the diameter of screw is in turn transformed to the diameter of the plug providing a far larger bearing surface. To use this method, the fitting is offered up to the spar and the fastening positions are carefully marked before removing. These are then bored out with a suitable spade cutter to a depth determined by the fastening. With a normal No 10 screw we would be looking at using a spade cutter of 15mm, but there is no hard and fast rule and is more dependent on the fitting, screw spacing, and number of fastenings. These holes are then filled carefully with Epoxy thickened with microfibers and flushed off. It is important to remove all air bubbles, and a prodding with a matchstick normally does the job. Once hardened the fitting can be offered up, suitable pilot holes drilled, and then stainless self tappers used to secure the fitting firmly.


epoxy

 Epoxy Bolting.

This has the same principle of the dowels but is used as a stronger fastening in high load areas with machine screws rather than self tapping screws, and most importantly the fastening is screwed into wet rather than cured epoxy.

Once again, the fitting is offered up to the spar and the positions marked. These are then carefully bored out to 75% of the depth of the fastening being used - a M8 x 50mm fastening will be bored out to a depth of 38mm with a 15mm drill bit. It is then necessary to drill out to the rest of the depth with a suitable drill size that will let the machine screw tap into the timber and pull itself in. Normally a M8 fastening will use a 6.5mm drill bit, but try it first in a scrap piece of timber.

The holes are all filled with an epoxy mixed with microfibers to a consistency that won't run out as you move onto the next hole. Again air bubbles need to be removed by stippling. Before the epoxy cures, offer the fitting to the spar and insert each of the machine screws through the epoxy and tap them carefully into the timber and tighten down. Be cautious about over tightening them as they will lose their grip on the timber. Clean off all excess epoxy and leave to harden.

epoxy

It should be noted that it is not necessarily the case to use either of the methods on a properly designed spar fitting, but when a reefing winch or turn block is to be fitted to the side of a hollow spruce boom, it lends itself perfectly.

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