HARDWARE
Ronstan
Introducing Ronstan
The sailboat hardware market and the architectural rigging market are worlds apart, but in Australia they’re both dominated by one powerhouse player. Ronstan’s end-to-end design, manufacture and distribution operation has grown to become the only serious competitor.
Our head office in Melbourne , Australia , is home to our state-of-the-art design facilities, our primary manufacturing plant and our advanced warehousing and global distribution system, which handles more than 4.9 million units each year. Our home market is further supported by sales offices in Sydney , Brisbane and Perth .
Internationally, we’re one of the top three sailboat hardware brands in the world, instantly recognised and respected in 45 countries. Our passionate team has worked tirelessly to develop export markets, establishing offices and warehouses in the US, UK, New Zealand and Denmark, and building strong relationships with our distribution partners around the world.
We believe that we owe much of our success to our close ties with yacht racing’s elite competitors. The challenge of producing top-end, innovative hardware to satisfy the extreme demands of racing conditions has led to many of the technical breakthroughs that have put us on top. We continue to actively participate in the promotion of sailing, both for pleasure and competition, and many of our staff are active sailors themselves. Speak to any one of our management team, who jointly own the company, and you’ll realise that we seriously love what we’re doing.
When Ronstan moved into architectural rigging, we had to establish our reputation in this new market. The results speak for themselves. If an Australian architect thinks stainless steel cabling for a showcase project, they think Ronstan. We’re the number one player. Our rigging products have also been receiving international acclaim, recently featuring prominently in high-profile projects in such diverse locations as Kuala Lumpur ’s International Airport , Beijing ’s Bank of China building and the Baltimore Footbridge, as well as Sydney ’s Star City casino.
As Ronstan continues to gather momentum, both within Australia and globally, two things are for sure:
We’ll continue to be committed to our people, our products, our relationships, our sport and our international focus.
We’ll keep doing business the way we approach our sailing – with heartfelt passion and a serious competitive streak.
Harken
Harken, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of quality sailboat hardware and accessories.
Our gear has dominated such events as the America's Cup and Olympics. Our blocks, travelers, furling systems and winches can be found aboard everything from the smallest dinghies to the largest megayachts and cruisers.
Headquartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Harken manufactures in the USA and Italy. Their network includes offices in 48 countries, with group offices located in Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States (Rhode Island, California, and Florida).
Lewmar
From dinghy fittings to global market leadership.
When Len Lewery started making Tufnol dinghy fittings back in 1946, not even his inventive mind could have foreseen how his small business would develop to become one of the leading marine equipment manufacturers in the world.
The name Lewmar dates from 1950 when Lewery joined forces with Leslie Marsh, a local plant hire operator to develop and manufacture dinghy fittings. The company set up in part of Marsh's plant-hire shop in Emsworth. It was here Lewery invented the revolutionary Novex blocks in the early 1950's, a Tufnol fitting which took the load out of sheets by automatically locking the block's sheaves.
Aircraft technology enters winch technology.
In 1959 Marsh sold out his share of the company to Henry Shepherd, whose firm made helicopter gearboxes for Westland. It was his finances and specialist knowledge of the latest lightweight aircraft materials technology that proved invaluable in winch gearbox design, which allowed the company to move up-market into the big-boat league at the start of the great sailing boom experienced during the late 50's.
Then, in 1967, John Burton, a keen yachtsman, acquired Lewmar and embarked on a 20-year career, turning the company into a world leader in modern yacht equipment.
Burton's determination to dominate the winch market led him to focus on three factors. First, he brought in John Huggett from one of the best machine tool designers in the country. Secondly, having secured a foothold in the mass boat building market, he attacked the high technology world of America's Cup racing which was coincidentally coming to the boil. Finally, he retooled the shop floor by introducing robotic machining techniques.
Building a worldwide network.
Taking the Lewmar product to market was another challenge facing Lewmar. Rapid expansion overseas saw company sales offices established in the US (1971), Sweden (1972) France (1980) and Holland (1986). Since then further offices have been opened in Australia, Italy, Spain and Finland. Lewmar's vast network of agents and distributors spans more than 50 countries, equipping the company to provide rapid on site service to customers the world over.
Lewmar became a plc in the 1980's and floated on the London Stock Exchange. The company expanded through the acquisition of Navtec and Brookes & Gatehouse.
It was taken over by Benjamin Priest plc in 1987, which was subsequently taken over by IMI Inc, a subsidiary of the Italian Feruzzi Corporation.
In 1996 the Lewmar Group was acquired by Vector Industries Ltd. They divested of Brookes & Gatehouse and retained the mechanical engineering group of Lewmar and Navtec.
Clyde Marine plc, owner of Simpson Lawrence Distribution and Engineering, purchased the Lewmar Group from Vector in a private sale.
Clyde Marine divested itself of Simpson Lawrence Distribution. Simpson Lawrence Engineering became Lewmar Scotland (Anchoring & Windlass Division). This division has now moved to Lewmar headquarters in Havant.
The acquisition of Whitlock, the world's leading steering systems company, in March 2000 was a further step towards the creation of a One Stop Shop for performance-critical boat equipment. Complementing the range of deck hardware, hatches, portlights, winches, windlasses, anchors and hydraulics, Lewmar now supplies leading boat builders with a complete package of products from a single source, with consistent levels of service and support around the globe.
The company's continued success is inextricably linked to innovation in product design and manufacturing excellence.
The technologies developed by Lewmar for today's Volvo, Vendee and America's Cup challenges will be integrated into the mainstream products of tomorrow. Recent investments in sophisticated, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment over the last few years has been undertaken to enable the company to offer consistently the highest levels of quality in the industry.
Equally important is the continued investment in Lewmar's global support network. The network is designed to support builders, distributors and dealers in supplying, servicing and repairing the full range of Lewmar products giving them informed and comprehensive advice quickly, wherever it may be needed.
A company focused on control.
Today, Lewmar's product range has grown significantly. Yet each product we engineer and market - from steering and anchoring systems to winches, hatches, hardware, and bow thrusters - is focused on empowering boaters with a greater sense of control over their craft. When performance and control are critical, always look to Lewmar
Wichard
Welcome to the new website for WICHARD, the marine hardware manufacturing specialist, for over 30 years.
Whatever your sailing program is (cruising, club, regatta, Olympic, Tran’s ocean…), you will always find the right Wichard product which has been designed and engineered, to match your expectations:
• Wichard’s range of blocks will cover all your yacht’s possible applications; Roller blocks (30 - 240mm), Plain Bearing Blocks (18 - 70mm), Ball Bearing blocks (18 - 80mm) • Stainless steel products (shackles, snap hooks, snap shackles, pad eyes, adjusters, etc.), forged in France, and stamped “Wichard”: a guarantee of safety.
• Safety products: harness tethers, “Gyb’Easy” the new boom brake and the recently released quick release trapeze spreader bar. The best in marine hardware, for your safety, aboard.
• Sailing accessories: knives, tillers extensions, shacklers - commonly used tools designed for performance, comfort and ease of use whilst sailing
Spinlock
Spinlock is an independent and innovative company, widely acknowledged as the world expert in ropeholding. Based in Cowes UK, the “Home of Yachting”, Spinlock has over thirty years’ experience of designing and manufacturing rope holding equipment for sailing boats from dinghies up to the largest Superyachts.
Spinlock’s cleats, clutches and jammers, hold ropes from 2mm to 32mm in diameter and loads up to 12000kgs. The expert skills of our Special Projects Team designers are valued by America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and other leading racing teams, Open 60’s and Superyacht captains for the originality of their custom rope handling solutions.
The Spinlock Deckware range includes Deckvest, the world leading lifejacket harness. Where there had been no significant technical or aesthetic change for over thirty years, Spinlock developed a completely new and personal harness & lifejacket solution that was attractive and comfortable to wear. Active campaigning by Spinlock about Deckvest and the importance of wearing your own lifejacket harness, have already helped encourage a much more positive attitude towards sea safety. Power or sail, amateur professional or commercial marine, wearing a well-fitting personal lifejacket has become very normal. Since 2010 we have been proud to supply special Deckvest versions to the international Certified Instructors of the respected Royal Yachting Association.
Other personal protection equipment widely used at top races and regattas, are Spinlock Performance Safety Lines, Mast harnesses, ZERO high-agility Sportsboat Vests, and Impact Protecting Knee Pads.
Equiplite
About Equiplite
Super braid loop HARDware
Equiplite™ products employ the properties of Dyneema® and thanks to the exclusive HTR treatment performed by Gottifredi Maffioli, DSK 75 ULTRA is an amazing combination of lightness, durability, tremendous strength and extremely low stretch. Equiplite™ Quick Loops are 15 times stronger than stainless steel fittings. These fittings have been in use on top-performance yachts, super yachts and one designs.
Weight counts
Light weight means a faster boat. Modern boats go to extraordinary lengths in design, cost and materials to save weight, Equiplite hardware pays dividends as connectors on the lee rail and at the bow. Up the mast, where weight requires over 5 times that weight in the keel to compensate, Equiplite halyard connectors and blocks are especially important for maximum performance.
Significant advantages
Join the hundreds of top boats using the Equiplite advantage. Equiplite fittings can be up to 90% lighter. Weight savings vary depending on type and comparison but general range is from 60% to 87% for the same load. Equiplite fittings don´t fatigue or jam if overloaded as do stainless connectors and unlike stainless fittings can take reasonable overloads without detriment. Wear is easily visible, they will not flog off even without the Velcro locks. In a panic sail change the Velcro can be attached later... and they do far less damage to masts, spinnaker tracks, decks and top sides. They are available in any size for any use, at competitive prices.
Long life
Loops are made of the strongest available UV tolerant DSK 75 ultra material. Dyneema ® is a tough long wearing material with a long life UV resistant waterproof coating. And if used with a smooth connection hole is long lasting, any wear is clearly visible and loops and velcro ties are replaceable. Volvo AC and top racing boats have been using them for up to 12 months and 30.000 hard racing miles, and they are still going strong, while some fittings are on their second set of sheets.
Karver
Driven by a common passion for sailing, a team of engineers and naval architects associated with manufacturers have created Karver Systems.
The present generation of high tech racing boats require equally high tech deck gear that accurately corresponds with the current evolution in performance, output efficiency, weight reduction and ergonomics.
Concepts first adopted in the design and construction of the Open 60’Class, can now be applied to all yachts, allowing racing and cruising sailors alike to benefit from the latest cutting edge technology.
From mass production to custom parts, Karver Systems follows the same “no compromise” stringent standards; from theoretical study to product manufacturing.
Karver utilizes the most recent generation of 3D modelling and numeric simulation software, to test material stress and ergonomics, thereby creating the highest weight/stress ratio and reliability in their future products.
Following the numeric study, all products are bench tested under various loads to determine resistance to wear and failure point.
Product testing at sea is the last step in the Confirmation of Excellence by Karver.
Karver Systems is structured to react promptly and efficiently to requests for the design and production of custom parts.
Karver has been chosen to outfit the yachts of the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and many Open 60’ Class mono and multihulls, with blocks, furlers, and custom hardware.
Tylaska
Unlike many other manufacturers, Tylaska pursues a different product mission. Instead of looking for ways to cut corners and skimp on quality, Tylaska shackles are aimed to be the best possible product made based upon physics and not economics. Many extra and exotic processes are used differentiating the Tylaska shackle from the normal piece of hardware. First, every structural part is run through a procedure called hipping (high isostatic pressurization), which is a process normally only reserved for spacecraft and critical aerospace parts. This consists of heating the component to near melting point in a vessel containing inert gas. The gas is then pressurized and the softened component is squeezed and compressed to seal and collapse any underlying void or imperfection. The result is a very dense and uniform material similar to a wrought or forged component, but in a shape or configuration impossible with forging. Next, heat treating is done in vacuum furnace to eliminate any chance of contamination. Several testing processes are implemented such as zyglo and magnifluxs to identify any microscopic surface flaws or cracks that could go unseen by the unaided eye. Each component is then run through a salt corrosion test to identify any contamination or chance for staining and ultrasonically cleaned afterwards. Next, each and every snap shackle is tension pulled to 50% of its breaking strength and also released under load. This is not a random statistical process, every single snap shackle is pull tested and verified as to holding the stated working load. After proof testing, the shackle is hand buffed and then cleaned again. Finally, one last thorough hand inspection is done on each item to verify that nothing is left unchecked. The result is a shackle that could pass as a piece of jewelry and exceeded the specifications for a part used in the space shuttle. Tylaska shackles are not the least expensive, but they are quite possibly the best. Some people may call it overkill but we call it security and peace of mind for applications where failure is not an option.
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Anderson Winches
Many yachts have been launched with ANDERSEN winches since the first winches were supplied in the late fifties. During the years the production techniques have been developed to a high degree. Most production operations today are carried out by CNC controlled machinery. Advanced technology and efficient quality control guarantee that the completed winches will function for years without problems even if they are subjected to high and constant loading. This is the reason why more than 12.000 winches are distributed every year to the complete satisfaction of enthusiastic yachtsmen in more than 30 countries all over the world. ANDERSEN have a loyal and dedicated staff who are proud to create this unique product, fulfilling the high quality demands of the customer whilst satisfying their own ambitions through good workmanship.
Garhauer
Introducing a new line of sailboat hardware by Garhauer.
Garhauer offers the boater a proven design and quality construction. Constructed of only the best materials, including:
Hand-polished stainless steel
Type 3 anodized aluminum
Garhauer is priced far below the brand names you have been limited to in the past. Garhauer is now standard equipment from many U.S. boat builders including Catalina Yachts the largest boat builder in the United States.
With that in mind we think your next choice in sailboat hardware should be Garhauer.
Forespar
Forespar is a company in which a team of dedicated boaters has continually advanced the quality of the sailing and powerboating experience since 1967. Founded by life-long boater Robert Foresman, the company has pursued his philosophy of innovation and quality to produce unique products which fill real needs.
Today, the crew at Forespar oversees a multifaceted design, manufacturing and worldwide distribution system from its modern headquarters in Southern California using CAD/CAM design , full machine shop, 80’ spray paint booth, plastic injection molding and carbon composite processing.
Forespar, along with its other widely recognized branded products including Leisure Furl, and Marelon, can be counted on by boaters to provide value and many years of enjoyment and performance. We are always leaders and innovaters; never followers and we strive to serve every boater.
Antal
Bluewave
Blue Wave Australia is a branch of Blue Wave Denmark, one of the largest manufacturers of rigging hardware in the world. Blue Wave has been manufacturing high quality, high performance rigging components for over 75 years.
Blue Wave Australia has a fully stocked warehouse on the Gold Coast and supplies Marine, Architectural, Design and construction industries. A national network of distributors is set up throughout Australia and can offer fast delivery and service.