Wooden Masts for Classic Yachts: WoodSpars, the Reference Workshop for Classe-R and Prestige Regattas

Handcrafted wooden spars for classic racing yachts — built to last, built to race.

On the racing grounds of the Régates Royales de Cannes or the Voiles de Saint-Tropez, Classe-R yachts captivate spectators with their elegant lines and period rigging. These classic racing boats, like the legendary Fifi, have been sailing for decades with their wooden masts — the living heart of the vessel.

In the "Classic" category of the international circuit, the rule is clear: wooden hull, wooden mast. This requirement is not a constraint — it is a philosophy. And it demands a rare level of craftsmanship.

WoodSpars, a marine carpentry workshop based in Locmariaquer (Morbihan, Brittany, France), has established itself as the European reference for the manufacture and restoration of wooden masts for classic sailing. The workshop features a 30-metre mast lathe, unique in Europe, capable of producing spars up to 80 cm in diameter — from an 11-metre Classe-R to a 47-metre tall ship.

Services include:

Custom manufacturing of laminated masts (Canadian spruce / Sitka pine), combining lightness, dimensional stability and period-accurate aesthetics

Repair and restoration of existing spars: hardware treatment, revarnishing, structural consolidation

Preventive maintenance with a proven protocol — as Samuel Zambaldi, founder of WoodSpars, notes: "80% of masts rot at the hardware fittings"

International delivery, wherever your yacht is moored

Notable projects include the masts of the Tall Ship Le Français (47 m three-masted barque, 1948), the 19 m spruce main mast of the ketch Korig (design Eugène Cornu, 1958), and numerous classic yachts competing on the Mediterranean circuit.

Classic yacht owners, naval architects, and restoration yards: explore WoodSpars' full range of services and projects at woodspars.com/nautisme-tradition, or get in touch for information or a personalised quote: [email protected]