Sailboat designers

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frank balcer

frank balcer

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Nov 18, 2006
183
Kirie Elite Elite 37 Moss Point MS
Has anyone here ever met an actual sailboat designer? Being that i'm from a little backwater town on the Ms. Gulf Coast, we don't get many celebrities and or sailboat designers down here. I am guessing that these folks stand about 4 foot 2 and have arms that are at least 44 inches long and also can develope enough tourque to shear a 1/2" coupling bolt with out even breaking a sweat! Being that I am 6 foot 4 and have arms of porportional length, im thinking that i will head back down to the boat yard and try to cuss the darn shaft coupling off! Should not be hard because if i lay just right I can actually see the darn thing. In all actuality I have it halfway off (Hurrah!) and am very thankful that i have a good sailing friend, Chris Charlton, who when he gets off from the machine shop were he works says that he will meet me at the boat and help me accomplish this task. I told him to come thirsty as i will have his favorite cold beverage on tap! I might as well call my buddy Dick Dixon to bring his video camera down so he can get some footage for an upcoming You Tube sailing clip. We could call it "Tall fellow flinging tools" probably would get an "R" rating for language though. Okay, enough of my venting, guess i'm headed back to the boat to continue disasembly. Ya'll have a great day!
 
NYSail

NYSail

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Jan 6, 2006
3,178
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Not Toyota

I wish my old boat was made by toyota engineers as they seem to engineer things making them simple. I just think some of these designers laugh as they lower the deck on the hull knowing the grief that will soon be enjoyed by the owners.
 
Ralph18414

Ralph18414

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Dec 11, 2005
74
Pearson 30 Wanderer NA
One time while working at a boat building shop

in Rockland, ME, if found myself painting the interior of a beautiful cold-molded yacht that we had built for a very demanding customer. There were just two of us painting the insides. The other guy was Chuck Payne--the noteworthy Naval Architect (NA). When I asked who he was--he wasn't one of the workers--and he told me, I then asked him why the hell was he doing what he was doing. He said he wanted to get familiar with the boat we had built--which was one of his designs. For being such a well known NA, he was quite a down-to-earth kinda guy.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,342
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
One of the reasons we bought the boat

that we did was because of superior access to all parts of the boat. Believe me, I did a LOT of comparison shopping. I am very glad we have a boat that all who own it agree that it is one of the easiest boats they have ever seen to perform any work on. Somebody's gonna say "all boats are compromises," for instance, our dock neighbor had a Mason 33, beautiful boat, but he and I had to try to remove and replace three or four simple Group 31 batteries from underneath his quarter berth in the aft cabin -- what a stressful and unpleasant experience. To see our batteries, all I have to do is pop open a cushion in the saloon. I do a LOT of work on our boat, like almost all of it because it is a safety issue - I need to know how everything works, and aside from a few skinned knuckles we've been able to get to everything without tearing the boat apart or finding places we could not EASILY access. I suggest to everyone who's looking at boats: "Check the oil dipstick. If it's hard to get to, just imagine what the rest will be like!" http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq-c34-owners-review.html I'm sure many others have had good experiences, too.
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
A good while ago...

another sailor and I went to the AC show on a snowy January weekend. One of the boats we just had to see was the new (then) Alerion. We sat in the cockpit and talked to an older guy about the unique self-tending jib arm the boat had. My friend pondered on how well it might work. The older gentleman, whom we mistook for a dealer weekender, promptly informed us it would work pretty damn well. He turned the credential tag hanging from his neck over so we could see it--he was Gary Hoyt himself, the designer. Couldn't have been a nicer, more astute guy to talk to!
 
L

Len

Dan, I have also had the pleasure of meeting Gary Hoyt and agree that he is a very pleasant person. I met him in Chicago this past winter at the Strictly Sailing Show. The first day for the event was a little slow so it afforded the opportunity to visit with some of the exhibitors. The Alerion's were just as impressive as Mr. Hoyt was.
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Bill Shaw

Is who designed your boat Frank. He passed away last year but he was very active in the Pearson owners association. I never met him personally so I am not sure of his physical build. Tim R.
 
higgs

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,736
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
Designers

I also met Gary Hoyt in Chicago when I looked over the Alerion. I was not impresessed with the boat when one considers what it cost. It was nice, but no where nice enough to cost $350k. Hoyt was a nice guy and also designed Freedoms. I had the oportunity to meet Buddy Melges in a bar in williams Bay, WI over the winter. What anice, down to earth guy he is. For me, it was better than meeting a Peyton Manning or a Michael Jordan. I have worked on Toyotas and have not found them not at all easy to access things like starters and oil filters. One way to get into tight spots is to pay an 18 year old kid to squeeze in there.
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
Higgs...

I met Buddy at the Chicago YC before the start of a Mac race even longer years ago. That was before he was building his own brand and still racing scows on the Wisconsin lakes. He most certainly is a down to earth kinda guy. We've had Gary Jobson and Tucker Thompson give seminars at our club in the recent past--both are genuine and good people too. When I lived in Annapolis I encounted a number of other luminaries, some of them I wouldn't want to board a boat, much less go sailing with.
 
F

Fred

I have had the pleasure

to know and hang out with Ted Brewer, George Beuhler, Tim Nolan (Cape George Cutter and Marco commercial boats) Scott Sprague (Hans Christian), Jay Benford, and Brent Swain. This represents a pretty wide range of boat types and type of owners who they design for, from folks with plenty of money to do it your selfers. One thing every one of these designers complained about is how builders and owners change their work once it leaves the drawing board. Scott Sprague insisted that Hans Christian take his name off some of "his" designs because of changes he didn't agree with. Valves and through hulls get moved for ease or cheapness of installation, tanks get made larger, or moved to make more space in the head or stateroom. etc. etc. Certainly many boats built as designed have hard to reach stuffing boxes and through hulls, but most of the time it's due to alterations.
 
frank balcer

frank balcer

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Nov 18, 2006
183
Kirie Elite Elite 37 Moss Point MS
Thanks, folks

I'm sure most all the designers are average folks who have a tough job figuring out were to put the needed systems. Being 6 foot 4 i would imagine almost any boat would be crowded for me to work on. Luckily i have a good friend who is a fellow sailor AND inside machinist who is very slender and agile. Have personally seen him do an engine alignment upside down with feet sticking out of lazarette hatch with little complaint!
 
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