Southern Spars, a global leader in composite rig technology, will exhibit at the Monaco Yacht Show 2026 and shared its vision for the ‘Rig of 2030’ at the Monaco Yacht Show 2026 in September. By bringing together expertise in sails, mast structures, rigging systems, materials and manufacturing, the company believes the next generation of sailing rigs will be defined by the seamless integration of these disciplines to enhance yacht performance, reliability and the overall sailing experience.
Key to this evolution are advances in composite engineering, design software and onboard technology. Southern Spars continues to develop solutions including fibre-optic load sensing, intelligent rig monitoring and next-generation furling and reefing technologies.
Equally important are advances in manufacturing and the application of aerospace-grade production and quality control processes, enabling increasingly sophisticated designs to be produced with exceptional accuracy and consistency at global manufacturing sites in Auckland, Valencia and Poland.
At the core of this approach is a deep understanding of sail shape and its interaction with the wider yacht system. Southern Spars uses advanced modelling and analysis tools to optimise the relationship between sails, mast structures, rigging and yacht architecture, an approach refined through projects ranging from high-performance foiling yachts such as Raven and Ferrari Hypersail to advanced superyacht programmes including Maximus and Sarissa.
“The rig can no longer be viewed as a standalone component,” says Vincent Guiot, Group Sales Director. “Performance begins with the sail and extends across the entire system, from mast bend and rigging loads to structural response and onboard technology. The future lies in optimising every element as a single integrated solution.”
The ‘Rig of 2030’ was also be the focus of the Southern Spars Breakfast, an invitation-only gathering of owners, designers, captains and industry partners. This year, Southern Spars welcomed Sir Russell Coutts as guest speaker. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern sailing, Coutts is a three-time America’s Cup-winning skipper, Olympic gold medallist and co-founder and CEO of SailGP.
