When you think of the sailing world’s major hubs, Newport and Annapolis might come to mind. France’s west coast produces some of the world’s greatest offshore racing boats and events. South Africa is a boat building hot spot. England has a historical claim to the title. New Zealand is producing more star power per square mile than maybe anywhere else.
Denmark, on the other hand, might not immediately spring to mind. Still, one can find a host of manufacturers that are famous around the world all within an hour’s drive of each other on the mainland’s south eastern shore. It’s an innovation mecca with shipyards, gear manufacturers, sail makers, and more. Here’s a few of the companies that call Denmark’s Syddanmark region home.
GORI
Prop manufacturer GORI celebrated its 50th year in operation in 2025. Despite spending decades as a household name in the marine business, they’ve had a surprisingly small list of products on offer over the years. That’s because when it works, it works, and their props are designed and constructed to stand the test of time.
GORI was founded in 1975 when Nils Oluf Ehrenskjold brought together Menkematic props (the first folding propeller with geared synchronized blades) and designer David Lewis to create the GORI folding 2-blade prop. From then, innovations were made to reduce drag, improve power efficiency, and most recently integrate hydrogeneration. Since 2015, GORI has been owned by BSI Marine Equipment Group, a Danish company that also includes BSI Rigging, Jefa Steering Systems, Hundested Propeller, Ocean Marine Systems, Ocean Yacht Systems, and Lyngaa Marine.
Learn more about GORI here.
X-YACHTS
Award-winning boat manufacturer X-Yachts is known for being one of the best in the business when it comes to the holy grail of yacht design: combining comfort and performance. Founded in 1979 as a small independent shipyard, the brand has now produced over 6,000 boats. Originally, it was focused on race boats, but the results caught the attention of cruisers, and in the 90s, they widened their range to include performance cruisers.
Today, X-Yachts’ offerings are arranged in three lines: XPerformance, XCruising, and XRange; however, quality and fast, comfortable sailing are staples across all three. To that end, X-Yachts continue to hold their own on the racing circuit, including an Xp 44 winning the 2016 Newport-Bermuda overall and the new XR41 winning ORC World Championships in its debut year.
Learn more about X-Yachts here.
QUORNING BOATS
Quorning Boats might not be a household name in the US, but the boats they make will certainly be familiar to SAIL readers: Dragonfly Trimarans. Founded in 1966, the company has been run since its inception by three generations of the Quorning family, including various partnerships of spouses, parents, and siblings along the way.
In 1989, they brought the “Swing Wing” to market, a folding ama that allows the beam of the trimaran to be drastically reduced for docking or transportation. The innovation has since become the trademark innovation of Dragonflies and is still seen on their boats today. The Dragonfly 32, Dragonfly 25, and Dragonfly 40 have all received SAIL’s Best Boat award.
Learn more about Quorning Boats here.
Elvstrøm SAILS
Elvstrøm Sails was founded by and named after Danish Olympic sailing legend Paul Elvstrøm in 1954. The story begins, as many great stories of innovation do, with a couple friends building things in a basement. Elvstrøm’s four gold medal-winning campaigns informed and inspired his drive to create better dinghy sails, starting with the Pirate class, then the Snipe. Before long, they were out of the basement and professionally making larger sails as well. Through the 80s and 90s, Elvstrøm expanded into different markets, notably clothing and cruising sails. Today, the company employs over 300 people.
Learn more about Elvstrøm Sails here.
EP Technologies
Founded in 2013, EP Technologies’ focus is on cleaner propulsion, from batteries to motors. The systems prioritize simple, user-friendly operation, and the company will help customers retrofit hybrid or fully electric systems to their boats. Historically it has focused on powerboats, but EP Technologies intends to move more decidedly towards the sailing space in 2026. Stay tuned for more updates.
Learn more about EP Technologies here.
John Mast A/S
Founded in 1974 by John Christensen, John Mast is one of Europe’s largest rigging and aluminum mast manufacturers, with a focus on “tailor-made customer solutions.” To date, it has produced over 50,000 masts. John Mast has three facilities in Denmark, Germany, and Italy, and keep 21 mast dimensions in stock, making replacement masts available with quick delivery times around Europe. Further afield, they have supplied masts to cruisers in need around the world, sending technicians as far as Uruguay or Australia to assist with installation or repairs when they’re needed en route.
Learn more about John Mast here.
Furlerboom
Founded in 1998, Furlerboom offers its own solution to making sailing simpler and more user-friendly and, no surprise here, it’s in-boom furling. Every technology comes with compromises, but in comparison to in-mast furling, in-boom furling saves weight aloft and can improve the sail shape. Plus, in the event of a failure or jam, the sail can still be lowered.
Their booms come in V- and O-shaped designs and can be made with a GRP composite or carbon. The company has produced 750 booms, with a fifth of those in the past two years, showing a marked increase in interest.
Learn more about Furlerboom here.
Lopolight
Lopolight produces LED lighting and electronics for a range of marine applications including navy, commercial, and personal use. Innovations like portable magnetic mounting, de-icing, or explosion-proofing might be more than we’d need for sailing, but the LED tricolor has proven a popular option for sailboats. Lopolight has also recently released a Control Hub that interfaces with MFDs to monitor and adjust your lights and other electronics from the safety of your screen. It currently has apps available for select Raymarine and Garmin instruments.
Learn more about Lopolight here.
