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Dinghy
Database Designers
Page
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Brief biographies of dinghy
designers
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Uffa
Fox
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Uffa
Fox designed some of the most innovative early International
14s,
and
produced the
first National 12
design, launched in 1936.
He
also designed the clinker version of the National 18
in 1938.
In 1946, the Fairey company used the same moulded
and glued veneer technique they had used to build Mosquito aircraft to
build the Firefly, which was adopted as the Olympic
single-handed class at the 1948 London Olympic Games (won by Paul
Elvstrom). The Firefly's larger
sister, the Swordfish was designed in 1948.
Other Fairey built designs were the Jollyboat
(1950) and the Albacore (1954). The Albacore and Firefly are
still in production, in both wood and plastic versions. Fox designed
the Jollyboat to be easier than the Firefly to sail as he got older,
but it turned out to be the fastest production dinghy of its time!
Fox also designed the Pegasus
and the Redwing.
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Jack
Holt
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Dinghy
sailing started to grow in popularity in 1950s. There were three
important reasons for this: plywood, newspapers and Jack Holt. In 1956
Holt designed the Enterprise for the News Chronicle, which sponsored
and promoted the class.
The
pairing of Holt with Barry Bucknall (TV DIY expert) to design the
Mirror for the Daily Mirror in 1962 caused sailing to expand at an
enormous rate. The Mirror was designed for home building, using
mass produced plywood panels, and simple "stitch & glue"
construction.
Holt was very prolific, his other
designs include National
12s, Merlin
Rockets (including the first Merlin), and the Cadet, Explorer,
GP 14, Heron, Hornet,
Lazy E (1960, popular in Australia), Miracle,
Pacer, Solo, Streaker,
and Vagabond.
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Ian
Proctor
Ian
Proctor helming an Osprey
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Ian Proctor
produced many variations on the
National 12, culminating in his Mark 14 design of 1966, and also
many Merlin
Rockets. He was
also one of the first to start
experimenting with metal masts to replace wooden spars in 1952.
One
of his National 12 designs was used for an experimental boat with fewer
planks; a wide bottom and top plank, with three narrower ones on the
turn of the bilges, and this led to the Osprey
design. The Osprey was
submitted for Olympic trials, along with the 505, but the Flying
Dutchman was selected.
His
1957 design for the Wayfarer
is
still going strong, as are the smaller
variations, the Wanderer
and the
Gull.
In 1968 Proctor re-designed the National 18
as a GRP hull.
Ian Proctor
designed the Topper
in 1976. Intended for GRP construction, the Topper was eventually
made from injection moulded polypropylene, and has become one of the
most popular and durable dinghies.
Proctor also designed the Beaufort, Bosun, Kestrel,
Minisail, Signet,
Typhoon, Wildfire and Zenith.
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Peter
Milne
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Peter
Milne's most noted design was the radical Fireball.
Based on a scow type hull, the Fireball was designed to be sailed with
a slight heel. The class has developed to add a trapeze and a
spinnaker, and is still a popular international racing class.
Milne
also designed the Javelin, and a 14 foot dinghy for the Daily Mirror,
now known as the Marauder.
The
Skipper 12 and 14 were designed as family cruising dinghies, but never
achieved popularity.
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Phil
Morrison
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Phil Morrison
cut his teeth
on the same development classes (the National 12
and Merlin Rocket) as
his predecessors, and went on in the 90s to develop new boats, such
as the Laser
5000. These use
foam sandwich GRP construction which allows for the use of lighter
and flatter panels. These new designs are usually manufacturers
one-designs, with fully battened mainsails and asymmetric spinnakers,
which are far easier to handle than conventional sails.
Other
Morrison designs include the Laser 2000,
Laser 4000
and Laser Stratos,
and the RS 200, RS400
and RS 800.
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Mike
Jackson
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Mike Jackson's
most popular design is the Lark,
but he also designed National
12s
and Merlin Rockets.
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Jo
Richards
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Richards
designed some of the most radical National
12s, and has remained innovative with the tunnel-hulled Laser Vortex.
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Ian
Howlett
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Influenced
by Australian skiff designs, with their multiple trapezes, wings or
racks and gennikers, Howlett has designed a number of these new style
dinghies for Topper Sailboats, often in collaboration with John Craig.
These include the Blaze, Boss,
Buzz, Iso, Spice and
Topaz.
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Frank
& Julian Bethwaite
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The Bethwaite family have been involved
with Australian skiff design for many years. A number of their designs have been adopted internationally, such as the
Laser 2, Tasar, B14,
29er, and
the Olympic skiff, the 49er.
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Bruce
Kirby
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A well established Canadian designer, with
several successful International 14s to his credit, Kirby designed the
most popular dinghy in the world, the Laser.
Kirby also designed two Laser family dinghies, the Laser
13 and Laser
16.
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earlier boats
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