SL Racing

SL Racing is a New Zealand rowing-equipment brand and manufacturer specialising in lightweight racing shells. The company was founded in 2010 in the Hawke's Bay region by Simon Lack, a former national-level rower, and developed as a family enterprise that was later joined by Lack's brother, Hamish. Its original workshop was in Puketapu, and the business subsequently expanded its operations after receiving recognition for regional innovation and export-oriented growth. The company produces racing boats ranging from single sculls to large crew shells, including doubles, pairs, coxed and coxless fours, quads, and eights. Its boats are built to order, allowing adjustments for a rower's dimensions, experience, and intended use. SL Racing describes its design approach as a balance between speed, rigidity, and stability: the boats are intended to provide competitive performance for experienced athletes while remaining manageable for developing rowers. The brand has supplied school-level crews as well as high-performance and international athletes. Manufacturing is carried out locally in Hawke's Bay. The shells use composite construction, including carbon-fibre skins, Nomex honeycomb, and structural foam cores. The company has stated that approximately 95 percent of a boat's components are made in New Zealand, with locally sourced materials used where practical. Hulls and components are laminated and cured at the Hawke's Bay facility. Design revisions have been driven by testing and feedback from rowers, including structural changes intended to increase torsional stiffness without materially increasing weight. The brand's single sculls have been described as weighing approximately 14 kilograms when fully rigged, with hull-only weight close to 6.5 kilograms. A major step in SL Racing's visibility came through its collaboration with New Zealand Olympic rower Emma Twigg. In 2021, Twigg worked with Simon and Hamish Lack and naval architect Kevin Dibley on a high-performance single scull. The design process incorporated her testing and feedback, with attention to hull curvature, displacement across different athlete weights, low weight, speed, stability, and tracking in crosswinds. The resulting boat was completed before the 2023–24 season and was raced by Twigg at international regattas before her appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her use of a New Zealand-built SL Racing shell gave the relatively small manufacturer exposure on an elite circuit dominated by European suppliers. By 2024, the company had produced approximately 1,000 boats and was developing overseas distribution through partners in the United Kingdom and Australia, with broader European ambitions. SL Racing also provides regatta support and maintenance in New Zealand. It has received interest from coastal-rowing participants but has indicated that it was not planning to enter that segment because of its limited size. The brand's current identity is therefore centred on locally manufactured, technically tailored flat-water racing shells, athlete-led development, and gradual international expansion rather than mass-market sporting goods.

SL Racing was established in 2010 in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, by Simon Lack. Lack brought experience as a national-level rower to the business, whose initial purpose was to build racing shells shaped by practical knowledge of rowing and local conditions. The enterprise began as a family operation and was later joined by Lack's brother, Hamish. Its early workshop was located in Puketapu. From the outset, the company pursued locally made composite boats rather than importing finished shells. It developed a production process in which hulls were laminated and cured at its Hawke's Bay facility. The boats use carbon-fibre skins with honeycomb and structural-foam cores, allowing the manufacturer to target low weight and high stiffness. The business has stated that most components are produced in New Zealand, with local materials making up approximately 95 percent of each boat's components. Its boats are manufactured to order and can be adjusted to suit individual rowers or crews. The company gained early regional recognition in 2011, when it received a business innovation award connected with growth and export plans. In the same period, a custom-built coxed four was used by a crew that won a bronze medal at the national secondary-school championships. This helped illustrate the breadth of the brand's market: SL Racing boats were not limited to elite athletes, but were also intended for schools and developing rowers. Product development has continued through feedback from users and technical experimentation. SL Racing has revised hull forms and construction methods to improve performance without adding unnecessary mass. One reported structural development used carbon X-shaped strips in the middle section of a boat to improve torsional stiffness. The company also developed a reverse-rigger configuration for its single sculls and used high-temperature curing techniques in production. Its stated design objective is to combine speed with sufficient stability for a range of users, rather than making boats exclusively for the narrowest elite segment. A significant later development was the partnership with Emma Twigg, a Hawke's Bay rower and four-time Olympian who won the women's single sculls title at Tokyo 2020. Twigg had known of Lack's rowing background through the Hawke's Bay rowing community and became an early supporter of the company. In 2021, she worked directly with Simon and Hamish Lack and naval architect Kevin Dibley to develop a new high-performance single scull. The collaboration considered athlete weight, water displacement, hull curvature, tracking, stability, and performance in changing conditions. Twigg's testing and feedback informed successive refinements, including revised stern geometry intended to improve tracking in crosswinds. The resulting boat was completed before the 2023–24 season. Twigg began using SL Racing shells at European regattas in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics. One of two boats was damaged during transit to a World Cup event, but she continued with the remaining shell and achieved a podium result at the 2024 Lucerne Regatta. Her Olympic participation in an SL Racing boat provided the company with its first reported Olympic-level exposure and distinguished it from the predominantly European manufacturers represented in elite rowing. International development accelerated alongside that exposure. By 2024, SL Racing had produced roughly 1,000 boats and was working to establish distributor relationships in the United Kingdom and Australia, with a wider European network under development. The company also indicated plans to increase annual output to approximately 350 boats. It continued to support New Zealand regattas with maintenance and technical assistance. Although it had received interest from coastal-rowing participants, the company did not intend to enter that market at the time, citing its limited size. SL Racing's development therefore remained focused on flat-water racing shells, local manufacturing, customisation, and selective export growth.

• 2024

  International and Olympic exposure

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  Emma Twigg raced an SL Racing shell at international regattas and the Paris Olympics; the company also advanced distributor relationships in the United Kingdom and Australia.

• 2024

  Production and export expansion plans

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  After producing approximately 1,000 boats, SL Racing announced plans to scale output toward about 350 boats per year while developing overseas markets.

• 2023

  New high-performance single scull completed

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  The Twigg collaboration produced a boat completed before the 2023–24 racing season, incorporating athlete testing and revised hull geometry.

• 2021

  Emma Twigg design collaboration begins

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  SL Racing began developing a high-performance single scull with Emma Twigg and naval architect Kevin Dibley.

• 2011

  Regional innovation recognition and early racing result

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  The company received regional business recognition for innovation, growth, and export plans; a custom SL Racing coxed four was also used by a national secondary-school bronze-medal crew.

• 2010

  Company founded in Hawke's Bay

  [1]SL Racingen.wikipedia.org

  Simon Lack established SL Racing as a New Zealand manufacturer of racing rowing shells.

A locally manufactured New Zealand racing-shell brand positioned around lightweight carbon-composite construction, athlete feedback, custom fitting, and a balance of speed and stability.

• Racing shell · 2010

  Single sculls (1X)

  SL Racing's single sculls are lightweight composite shells intended for individual racing. They use carbon-fibre and core-material construction and are produced to order, with fit and setup adjustments available for different rowers. Reported specifications place a fully rigged single at approximately 14 kilograms and the hull alone at about 6.5 kilograms. The range includes performance-focused designs developed through athlete testing and feedback.

• Racing shell

  Doubles and coxless pairs (2X / 2-)

  These two-person shells are designed for both double-scull and coxless-pair configurations. As with the wider SL Racing range, construction uses lightweight laminated composite materials and the boats can be built to crew requirements. The designs aim to combine stiffness and speed with predictable handling for school, club, and competitive use.

• Racing shell

  Coxed fours and coxed quads (4+ / 4X+)

  SL Racing builds larger crew shells for coxed four and coxed quad configurations. A custom-built coxed four contributed to the company's early profile when it was used by a national secondary-school bronze-medal crew in 2011. These boats are made locally and can be specified for developing crews or more advanced racing programmes.

• Racing shell

  Coxless fours and coxless quads (4- / 4X)

  The company's coxless four and quad shells extend its composite boat range to high-capacity crews racing without a coxswain. They are manufactured at the Hawke's Bay facility and designed around the brand's emphasis on low weight, stiffness, stability, and custom crew requirements.

• Racing shell

  Eights (8+)

  SL Racing's eight is its largest listed crew-boat format. It is intended for organised rowing crews and follows the company's locally manufactured composite construction approach. Specific model specifications and launch timing are not identified in the available material.

• 2024Olympic and international athlete visibility campaign

  Europe · International

  Twigg raced SL Racing shells at European regattas ahead of Paris 2024, giving the New Zealand manufacturer visibility among elite competitors and rowing distributors.

  Outcome. The campaign supported the brand's international profile and coincided with expansion through overseas distributors.

  Source
• 2021Emma Twigg high-performance single-scull collaboration

  New Zealand · International

  SL Racing collaborated with Emma Twigg and naval architect Kevin Dibley on a custom single scull. Twigg supplied performance feedback through testing, while the company refined the hull for speed, stability, weight efficiency, and tracking in variable conditions.

  Outcome. The boat was completed before the 2023–24 season and was used by Twigg in international racing and at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

  Source

• 2024

  Build an overseas distributor networkStrategy

  Background

  International attention generated by Twigg's racing increased interest in SL Racing's boats outside New Zealand.

  Action taken

  The company established initial distributor relationships in the United Kingdom and Australia and began developing a wider European network.

  Aftermath

  SL Racing moved from primarily domestic sales toward a selective export model, alongside plans to raise annual production capacity.

  Source

• 2021

  Develop an athlete-led elite single scullProduct launch

  Background

  SL Racing sought to create a high-performance boat suitable for Olympic-level competition, while Emma Twigg wanted to race a locally built shell.

  Action taken

  Simon and Hamish Lack worked with Twigg and naval architect Kevin Dibley to iterate the hull using athlete testing and performance feedback.

  Aftermath

  The resulting shell entered international competition and was used by Twigg at Paris 2024.

  Source

• 2011

  Expand beyond the original workshopStrategy

  Background

  Following regional business recognition and growth in demand, SL Racing needed to develop its operations beyond its initial Puketapu workshop.

  Action taken

  The company expanded its operations while retaining local Hawke's Bay manufacturing.

  Aftermath

  The expansion supported a broader product range and the company's longer-term export ambitions.

  Source

1. 1SL Racingen.wikipedia.org