About us

When Len Lewrey started making Tufnol dinghy fittings back in 1946, not even his inventive mind could have forseen that his small business would develop to become one of the leading marine equipment manufacturers in the world.

In 1967, John Burton acquired Lewmar and embarked on a 20-year career, turning the company into a world leader in modern yacht equipment. Lewmar attacked the high-technology world of America's Cup racing, supplying the first AC winch package to Korura V in c. 1966-68.

Through a series of acquisitions and mergers in the latter decades of the twentieth century, the Lewmar range evolved to include rigging, windlass, steering, hatch and portlight. Innovations included the Wavegrip jaw, which won the battle for the self-tailing winch market. Lewmar's distribution extended around the globe and the expertise and success of the company won recognition with the attainment of three Queen's Awards.

The 1983 America's Cup was the occasion of the first winning challenge to the New York Yacht Club, which had successfully defended the cup over a period of 132 years. An Australian syndicate representing the Royal Perth Yacht Club fielded the Australia II, against defender Liberty, and won the match races to win the America's Cup. Both boats had Lewmar winch systems.

The Lewmar Ocean Block won the 1993 DAME award with its bayonet fixing. The revolutionary block won the prestigious award due to this fixing, which improved performance while reducing weight.

In 2005, Lewmar supplies winches and deck hardware to Gipsy Moth IV as part of the restoration project that has commenced in Cowes, England. Lewmar winches were on the boat when Francis Chichester undertook his classic circumnavigation in 1967. Lewmar was fully involved in support and assistance, and the fitting and servicing of the hardware.

In 2006, Lewmar wins the prestigious DAME Award for the second time with the OneTouch winch handle. The awarding DAME Jury described the OneTouch handle as 'elegant in concept, aesthetically pleasing, strong on detail design, well executed, effective and a great step forward.'

Lewmar unveiled a new EVO winch at the 2010 METS trade show. Legendary quality combinded with state of the art technology ensures Lewmar's new EVO winch range is the most advanced yet. It had been almost 20 years since Lewmar introduced its last industry leading winch range.

In 2011, Lewmar manufactured cutting edge carbon winches for Hetairos, a 67 metre yacht in which ultra modern features and technical innovation are combined with classical looks. Lewmar was keen to meet the multiple challenges, amongst which were designing, engineering and manufacturing a complete set of on deck winches and under deck line management systems to control the 4000 square metres of main sail, mizzen and blade sails.

Lewmar is nominated for the prestigious DAME Award in 2013 for its Captive Reel Windlass CRW400.

In 2015, Lewmar announced the completion of its ultra-modern tempering plants in the UK for marine glazing.

Lewmar achieves an honourable mention in the manufacturer collaborative solution category at the 2016 Boat Builder Awards in conjunction with Beneteau and NV Equipment.

Lewmar supplies the first production electric sunroof to Sunseeker in 2017 for their new 74 Sport yacht. This secured a full Lewmar glass set to accompany the Lewmar hatch, heavy windlass and anchoring package.

Lewmar is named the winner of the 'Collaborative solution between production boat builder and supply chain partner' category at the 2018 Boat Builder Awards, for glass products developed with Prestige, Sunseeker and the Hanse Group.

The decade closed with LCI Industries announcing the acquisition of Lewmar.

Lewmar has transformed beyond recognition from the small company established by Len Lewery and Leslie Marsh in 1950. Yet the spirit of innovation and engineering excellence has remained constant. Today, Lewmar is the premier marine equipment supplier, designing, manufacturing and distributing innovative, high-quality control solutions worldwide.