METS 2017

Hall Spars will be exhibiting at the Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) in Amsterdam, Holland again this year from 14-16 November. You can find us in our regular spot (12.024) close to hardware suppliers such as Harken, Karver, Lewmar and Ronstan.

Present will be a team from both our factories (Breskens, Holland and Auckland, New Zealand) so come talk to us about your next project!

To make an appointment, get in touch directly or use our general email address (info AT hallspars.com).

For more info on this 30th edition, visit the METS Website or go directly to the interactive floorplan here.

EXITING TIMES AHEAD FOR HALL SPARS

With the recent integration into the North Technology Group, Hall Spars and its worldwide customer base have benefited greatly from the increased backing.

Hall Spars continues to manufacture high performance carbon masts in a single piece, using a male-moulding approach, which allows Hall Spars’ technicians to make seamless mast tubes, which optimise for stiffness and weight.

Hall Spars New Zealand now produces masts from the group´s state of the art facility in Avondale, Auckland. Hall Spars NZ continues to be one of the go-to manufacturers for yachts ranging from performance cruisers to high-end racers.

Hall Spars BV has been busy with many orders on the books. Projects like the new Swan 95´ released at the MYS or the already confirmed Baltic 67´ only showcase customer’s confidence in the Hall product.

Together with the production facilities in NZ and the Netherlands, Hall Spars US service team has been working on everything from 147´ superyachts and J-Class yachts to 60´ Gunboats. They have also recently re-launched their AutoLock and QuikVang product lines.

For more information or to speak to us about your next yachting project, head to www.hallspars.com or EMAIL 

(Originally published on Sailing Scuttlebutt)

Hall Spars at the Monaco Yacht Show

We’re happy to update you about the latest developments of Hall Spars during the Monaco Yacht Show. Not only regarding new-build projects, but also about the refits of existing rigs and the global service offering we can bring to our customers.

Andre Vermeulen, Commercial Director at Hall BV, will be present from Wednesday through Friday. Service Director Stefano Scarpa will be providing information about the company’s world-leading service commitment. Contact Andre Vermeulen (mobile +31653355957) or Stefano Scarpa (mobile +447894521202) for a meeting.

Nautor's Swan 95 "LOT 99" featuring a Hall Spars rig and OceanFurl boom will be present at the show

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

At this year's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (YCCS, Porto Cervo, Sardinia) again plenty of Hall Spars rigged yachts will be competing in the different classes for glory and the Rolex watch.

From Holland, rig designer and FEA engineer Luuk le Clercq will be travelling down to compete in this special event and he will be part of the race crew on board Highland Fling XI.

YCCS Club House, Porto Cervo

If you would like to discuss your future project, or have questions about your current rig please contact the reception at Hall Spars to set up a meeting:
e-mail or call +31 (0) 117 381397

More info about the event, click here.

J-Class World Champion!

Last week the inaugural J-Class World Championships were held in the waters of Newport, RI. With stiff competition amongst the different yachts, it was the sole Hall Spars rigged J that came out on top! Not only did she win the worlds, but also the Corinthian trophy (best owner-driver) and the Kohler Cup for best performance over the 2017-season after also winning in Bermuda at the J-Class regatta.



Congratulations from all of us at Hall Spars to her owner, her skipper and the full crew as well as all partners who worked on this project and have kept developing the yacht over the past seven years.

Apart from the mast, boom, jockey- and spinnaker poles on JH1 Lionheart, J8 Topaz has also raced with a #Seamless spinnaker pole from Hall and she managed two race victories!

Freddy Franssens

Sad news from Breskens: last Saturday, 1 July, Hall BV’s senior rigger FREDDY FRANSSENS died at sea during a tragic accident.

Freddy (71) was part of the crew on board S/Y "Capella" owned by FRANS MAAS, designer and builder of the successful range of Standfast yachts.

Also Frans (79) and a third crew member (at the age of 18 and still missing) lost their lives during this accident.

Three crew members were rescued and are now recovering from hypothermia.

Freddy joined our team 36 years ago and he was well respected for his craftsmanship and perseverance. We will miss him!

Our hearts are with the families and their friends.

For those who would like to express condolences, please reply to: reception@hallspars.com or post to Hall Spars, Deltahoek 42, 4511 PA Breskens.

After receipt we will hand over all received cards and forward the received emails to the families Franssens and Maas.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday 8 July at Deltahoek 26, Breskens from 13.30.

Your sincerely,

Management and staff,

Hall BV

Tom Rossi Takes the Helm at Hall

Hall, Inc. (Hall Spars & Rigging and Hall Composites) announced this week that Tom Rossi has been named President and CEO of the company effective 27 June 2016. He will be responsible for all Hall operations in the US, Holland and New Zealand.  He succeeds Eric Hall, founder of the company, who will remain as Company Chairman.

Mr. Rossi comes to Hall with impressive credentials. A US Naval Academy graduate, Mr. Rossi is a veteran of 20 years Naval service reaching the rank of Commander before retirement in 2000. Included in his Naval duties was Commanding Officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer USS John Hancock (DD981).

After his Naval career, Mr. Rossi embarked on a distinguished career in the private sector which has included Vice President of Anteon Corporation in Middletown, RI, Executive VP and GM of Caton Connector Corporation in Kingston, MA, and Senior Director of Operations of SRI International Corporation in Princeton, NJ.

“Tom’s proven professional management and leadership skills are ideal for executing our company’s vison of not only maintaining Hall’s respected place in the high performance sailing industry, but also moving our company’s place in the aerospace and other commercial industries to the next level,“ said Eric Hall. “We are really pleased to have found such an energetic and highly skilled person to lead us into the future.”

“In the few short days I have been here, I am impressed with the level of skill, commitment and professionalism of the staff at each of the Hall factories,” said Mr. Rossi. “I look forward to leading this talented team as we take the company to the next level in the sailboat and commercial industries.”

Mr. Rossi and his wife, Joan, have four children - Christina, Mariann, Michael and Andrew - and live in Portsmouth, RI.  

Dick Bolk Joins Hall Team as Managing Director at BV

Broadly experienced in engineering, manufacturing and operations, Hall is pleased to announce the appointment of Dick Bolk as Managing Director at Hall BV in Breskens, NL. "I am very excited to join the Hall team," he said, "I look forward to maintaining and improving the wonderful high-quality products we manufacture." Mr. Bolk lives in Sint Maartensdijk, Holland with his wife Caroline. They have five children and share a passion for sailing.

Hall Yachts Shine at Superyacht Cup in Palma

Hall-rigged Baltic 108 WinWin claimed overall victory at the 2016 Superyacht cup in Palma, in what Captain Clive Walker referred to as a "win-win situation." Walker and his team had previously won the 2010 Superyacht Cup in another Hall-rigged yacht, Jongert 29m Scorpione dei Mari.

Hall BV’s Sven Coster, Pieter Brinkman and Andre Vermeulen were part of the 20-person crew on board Tempus Fugit (pictured above) as the Humphreys designed 90 classic sloop sailed to a Class C victory and second overall.



Oyster 885 Firebird, also a Humphreys design, earned second place in Class C at only her second regatta. Heartbeat, a Hoek 78 Truly Classic, scored third as Hall-rigged yachts swept the Class C podium.

Tripp 62 Launches with Hall Spars

Phil Garland, David Moffet and Lars Svenstrup of the Hall US service team (pictured below) were all hands on deck at New England Boatworks last week for the launch of Tripp 62 café racer Chessie Racing. The yacht is equipped with a high modulus carbon racing mast built at the Hall US facility in Bristol, RI, and Oceanfurl Boom manufactured at Hall NZ in Auckland. The vessel will be based in southern New England for the summer, starting off at the Ida Lewis Distance Race out of Newport, RI, before heading to Fisher Island, Florida for the winter racing circuit.

 

Hall NZ Team at Sydney International Boat Show

Garry Hassall, Dave Ridley and Ron Jacobs from the team at Hall New Zealand will be on hand at the Sydney International Boat Show - Cockle Bay Marina in Darling Harbour and Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island, Sydney, Australia. The show takes place from 28 July through 1 August.

Hall World Service Now Hiring

SERVICE TECHNICIAN

Hall, Inc. is seeking an experienced Service Technician for its Bristol, RI, USA location. Responsibilities include:

• Field requests for billable service & warranty repairs
• Perform repairs on masts, booms, poles, rigging & vangs wherever possible
• Perform rig and rigging inspections, to include: visual inspections of mast & rigging
• Rig and dress spars in-house and in the field
• Provide documentation of warranty issues so they can be addressed by engineering and/or production on future rigs
• Assist with assembly of vangs, pole ends, spinnaker poles and booms in final assembly when requited by the Production Manager

Please send CV to i.bowen@hallspars.com  

Hall Consistency the Key in Sydney-Hobart

The 2015 Sydney-Hobart race was a good test for Hall products, both new and "seasoned."

Comanche  © Rolex/Daniel Forster

Line Honours went to owners Jim Clark & Kristy Hinze-Clark and skipper Ken Read, as 100-foot supermaxi Comanche crossed the mark in 2 days, 8 hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds, despite having suffered significant damage from a submerged object en-route to the finish. Hall supplied two key assemblies for Comanche, both having to be 100% reliable in this especially tough race. First was Comanche's monolithic keel ram box. Due to its enormous size and stringent strength requirements, Hall was commissioned to build the keel ram box and cure it in their aerospace-grade autoclave. For the same reasons, Hall was tapped to build the yacht's ultra-strong bowsprit, on which its highly-loaded reaching headsails depend.

Balance  © Rolex/Stefano Gattini

Overall victory at Sydney-Hobart went to TP52 Balance, equipped with a 2004 Hall carbon rig. With this Hobart proving to be one of the roughest on record, the conditions proved a severe test for the "old" rig. Despite its many years of service, the rig came through with flying colors at the top of the podium - a clear testament to Hall's consistency and quality. Hall Spars & Rigging has over 35 years of experience building and maintaining the world's most innovative and high-performance rigs. With three complete manufacturing centers on three continents, Hall pioneered the combination of autoclave curing and Seamless carbon construction.

Special Delivery to Nautor's Swan

Just in time for the holidays, Hall BV in Breskens has shipped over 100m of mast tubes to Nautor's Swan - one for the Swan 68 and another for the Swan 115. Stay tuned for updates!

Hall Introduces HCB Composite Battens

Designed for high-performance and low weight. Built for longevity.

Hall Spars and Rigging's hollow composite battens are the new benchmark in mainsail shape control. As world leaders in composite spars and components, Hall Spars has transferred our technology to make the most advanced batten in yachting today. Using high quality pre-preg carbon fiber, the battens are manufactured in custom solid aluminum female tooling using 6 bar of pressure to ensure aerospace quality lamination and minimum resin content. Engineered to your sail designers specific stiffness' or from our custom range, your Hall Composite battens will take your boat that next step closer to the championship.

HCB Battens offer a full range of end fittings from soft sail furling to batten receptacles, lashing outboard ends, adjustable outboard or inboard ends with screw adjusters.

To order, contact battens@hallspars.com

Hall BV to Host Open House at Breskens Factory

Ker 56 Racer Launched with Hall Spars

Hall BV  has recently launched the Ker 56 Varuna VI, a canting keel offshore race boat. Equipped with a Hall Spars HR40 carbon mast, carbon boom and AutoLocks, Varuna VI jumped right into the racing scene, competing in Les Voiles de St. Tropez and the Rolex Middle Sea Race shortly after launch. Read more from Knierim Yachtbouw here...

Ron Jacobs and Ike Bowen Join the Hall Spars Team

Hall Spars & Rigging has expended its reach in Australia, as Sydney-based yachting veteran Ron Jacobs has signed with Hall to continue the commitment to the support and growth of the Australian market. In Ron we have found a highly experienced, technically capable representative whose depth of industry knowledge and relationships speak for themselves, said Hall NZ Managing Director Garry Hassall. "An oft crowned sailor himself, Ron blends a core understanding of client needs with an extensive background in project management." Read more here...

Meanwhile, at the Hall US facility, Ike Bowen has joined Hall Spars & Rigging as Service Manager. With over two decades experience in sailmaking, marine manufacturing, competitive sailing and project management, Ike brings a wealth of knowledge and capability to the Hall World Service Branch in the US.

"Being first introduced to the Hall group while working in the sailmaking industry many years ago, I am happy to join a company with so many people I have known and worked with over the years," said Bowen. "Hall Spars & Rigging has a history that is unmatched, and I am excited to be a part of the world-class Hall service team."

Oyster 825-04 Launched with Hall Spars

On Monday, 5th October, Oyster 825-04 Albatros was stepped in Southampton, with the team from Hall BV on hand. A slightly different rig from the sloop-rigged 825-01 and 825-03, the yacht is cutter-rigged, equipped with a Hall carbon mast and Oceanfurl Boom. Following sea trials, the boat will leave for Las Palmas to join the ARC.

Hall Receives 35-Year Recognition Award

Harken, leading manufacturer of sailboat hardware & accessories, has just recognized Hall Spars & Rigging for '35 Years of Fearless Pioneering' - solidifying the strong relationship between the two companies over the last three and a half decades. Hall, pleased and proud to have worked with Harken so consistently for so long, looks forward to the next 35 years of cooperation and beyond.

Find Harken products in the Hall Spars & Rigging online store by clicking here.