Best Yacht Designer in the GRP Era

[sailorman]

Sparkman & Stephens
Ron Holland
Bruce Farr

But If I could afford a new one off it would be Stephen Jones

Interesting how Jones has turned up the most in this thread. He is a designer who has designed some way out racers such as Tumblehome & the SJ Hustlers ,yet has designed some really clever cruising boats. There is a brilliant one off at Bradwell ( forget the name) that looks like an old classic but beneath the waterline is a really interesting well balanced shape with a wide stern that is not obvious to the casual observer. The owner says she can sail herself with very little input from the helm

Jack Knight`s Tumbleholme was based in SYH for many yrs ( built by Fox`s )

 

[lukedh]

Dick Newick did a rather good job designing multi-hulls.

 

[Gerry]

Chuck Paine

The sheer genius behind :


NAME/TYPE LOA First Built
English / Metric
FRANCES 26 26.00' / 7.92m 1975
MORRIS 26 FRANCES 26.00' / 7.92m 1977
MORRIS 30 LEIGH 30.00' / 9.14m 1979
MORRIS 32 32.42' / 9.88m 1979
CAROL 24 24.33' / 7.42m 1979
LEIGH 30 (PAINE) 30.00' / 9.14m 1979
ANNIE 30 30.00' / 9.14m 1980
WHISTLER 32 CAT KETCH 32.00' / 9.75m 1980
BOWMAN 48 48.16' / 14.68m 1981
WHISTLER 32 CUTTER 32.00' / 9.75m 1981
INTREPID 40 40.00' / 12.19m 1981
VICTORIA 26 26.00' / 7.92m 1982
WHISTLER 48 47.67' / 14.53m 1982
MORRIS 36 JUSTINE 36.25' / 11.05m 1983
MORRIS 38 37.42' / 11.41m 1985
VICTORIA 34 34.00' / 10.36m 1985
MORRIS 28 LINDA 28.00' / 8.53m 1985
VICTORIA 30 29.67' / 9.04m 1986
BOWMAN 40 (PAINE) 39.92' / 12.17m 1987
BOUGAINVILLAEA 54 53.08' / 16.18m 1988
ABLE 42 42.00' / 12.80m 1989
BOUGAINVILLAEA 62 62.83' / 19.15m 1991
MORRIS 40 40.92' / 12.47m 1995
APOGEE 50 (PAINE) 51.00' / 15.54m 1995
MORRIS 46 45.67' / 13.92m 1996
MORRIS 42 42.00' / 12.80m 1997
MORRIS 34 33.75' / 10.29m 1998
CABO RICO 40 40.00' / 12.19m 1998
PISCES 21 20.75' / 6.32m 1999
CABO RICO 56 56.00' / 17.07m 2003
MORRIS 51 51.00' / 15.54m 2003

and some superb aluminium cruisers too.
Stephen Jones acknowledges Chuck as a major influence in his designs......

 

[Slowtack]

Chris Butler, Stephen Jones, Rolf Magnusson - had one of each, all good in their own way

 

[snooks]

Lines, handling and performance are all very well, but if a yacht doesn't sell the designer has failed.

But the designer is designing, and solving the problems, to their client's needs. Few, if any, have a blank canvas to design a boat from, as for it to be made it needs someone who will invest in the design. The restrictions in the brief define the boat, it's size, layout etc. so it's unfair to say a designer has failed if they were following and fulfilled the brief.

Not all designs have to be sold in vast numbers to make them profitable. Also a boat can be good without selling a single one.

 

[JumbleDuck]

But the designer is designing, and solving the problems, to their client's needs.

If the client says "I want you to design a boat and I don't care whether it sells or not" then of course the designer is in the clear. If the designer comes up with a boat, like the GT35 (or the GT30), which is actively marketed but which nobody wants to buy then the design is certainly a failure.

Also a boat can be good without selling a single one.

If nobody is prepared to put pen to chequebook for it, that stretches the definition of "good" rather a long way.

 

[Wansworth]

Per Brohall..........Designer of Albin Vega......3500 sold. Good little boat ,except going backwards

 

[Hial]

Ian Anderson, designer of the Hurley 22

 

[Otter]

GL Watson

 

[sailorman]

GL Watson

Yep he did some very nice work for the RNLI

 

[bbg]

If the designer comes up with a boat, like the GT35 (or the GT30), which is actively marketed but which nobody wants to buy then the design is certainly a failure.

I'm not sure your conclusion is correct, and it would certainly be wrong to necessarily blame the designer. The design might completely fulfil the brief that was given to the designer. The brief might have been a failure.

Or the design might be lovely but the builder can't build it for a price that will attract punters.

 

[E39mad]

If the client says "I want you to design a boat and I don't care whether it sells or not" then of course the designer is in the clear. If the designer comes up with a boat, like the GT35 (or the GT30), which is actively marketed but which nobody wants to buy then the design is certainly a failure.



If nobody is prepared to put pen to chequebook for it, that stretches the definition of "good" rather a long way.

Have disagree with this. A superb design can be wrecked by a builder who over specs, over prices a design and poor marketing and sales staff can stifle it's potential. Builder could spec an unusual interior (not design) but materials.

An unknown make can also be an issue with a new product such as a GT35 irrespective of its pedigree. Buyers can be fickle when it comes to these matters.

 

[snooks]

If the client says "I want you to design a boat and I don't care whether it sells or not" then of course the designer is in the clear. If the designer comes up with a boat, like the GT35 (or the GT30), which is actively marketed but which nobody wants to buy then the design is certainly a failure.



If nobody is prepared to put pen to chequebook for it, that stretches the definition of "good" rather a long way.

If the GT35 was £200k cheaper it would have sold. But the actual design wouldn't have changed.

The model could be a commercial failure, but that doesn't make the design a failure. Likewise a bad design could sell lots but that doesn't improve the design.

Mike Pocock designed a boat for himself, it was a good boat for him, but I doubt it would sell to anyone else. It was still a good boat.

When Rustler had asked Stephen Jones to design the Rustler 42, if they then built it out of chipboard and 6in nails it isn't going to sell. That is no fault of the designer. When Bavaria asked Farr yacht design for a new model design and then say they wanted it built of ebony and Rolex watches does that mean the designer was wrong. No. The designer is fulfilling a brief, there are still plenty of opportunities for companies, customers and clients to add their input, however misguided it may be.

For the record I think the GT35 is a good boat.

Of course for a good design to become a good boat, it has to be made, and I've seen many good designs that are waiting for the right customer to approach a company with the money to buy the boat from the plans. But if that customer then starts specifying their own taste of interior design and decor the design might not be the success it deserves to be.

 

[DJE]

For the last few months I have been admiring the work of Nils-Eric Olofsson.






(Since I bought one of his boats.)

 

[dom]

When Bavaria asked Farr yacht design for a new model design and then say they wanted it built of ebony and Rolex watches does that mean the designer was wrong. No...

....it was a beautifully timed if somewhat flashy design update

 

[Malish]

Peter Brett - the Rivals (but I am a little biased ;-))

 

[JumbleDuck]

I'm not sure your conclusion is correct, and it would certainly be wrong to necessarily blame the designer. The design might completely fulfil the brief that was given to the designer. The brief might have been a failure.

That's why I said that the design is a failure, not the designer. Though perhaps designers have an obligation to tell the client if the brief is unrealistic?

Or the design might be lovely but the builder can't build it for a price that will attract punters.

In that case it's not a lovely design in the industrial design sense, though it may be a lovely design in the aesthetic and styling sense. Charles Rennie Mackintosh is a good example of this this - his chairs looked lovely but were impossible to build at a commercially successful price.

In any case I think it's safe to say that when a boat sells by the tens of thousands, the design and the designer have both been successes.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Have disagree with this. A superb design can be wrecked by a builder who over specs, over prices a design and poor marketing and sales staff can stifle it's potential. Builder could spec an unusual interior (not design) but materials.

Apart from poor sales staff, all those are aspects of the design.

An unknown make can also be an issue with a new product such as a GT35 irrespective of its pedigree. Buyers can be fickle when it comes to these matters.

The GT35 was build (beautifully, by all accounts) by a well established yard and designed by an acknowledged master. And yet the whole package failed miserably.

 

[westhinder]

Fully agree with Snooks and E39mad. A designer works to a brief. If the boat that results from this is too expensive to be a commercial succes, the problem lies with the brief, not the designer. If the company that came up with the brief, misjudged the market, that can hardly be the fault of the designer. I think Stephen Jones has amply proved he knows how to draw a good boat.
Biased, me? Sailing a Starlight, yes, but that does not make me biased, does it?��

PS glad someone finally mentioned Peter Brett too. He was not as prolific as many other designers, but the Rivals are a great family of boats.

 

[Seajet]

Following comments about designers being blameless if builders then use cardboard or something, I have to disagree.

Any good designer will see at least the first boat from mould to fit-out, and be keen to sail the first one; there will probably be a few ideas for rig adjustments - maybe even mast step position, but hopefully not to the hull.

The method of construction, spec' of materials, processes and further equipment is a part of the designer's job.

Otherwise one might find Aphrodite 101's made of ferro cement or carved out from solid granite !