Classic Boat and big names: who is your favorite designer?

Classic Boats and big names: who is your favorite designer?

In the world of sailing, and even more so in that of the Classic Boats, the signature of a project is an important component. The past century has seen incredible names sign equally greatdesigns, leaving us with a legacy of stunning boats, icons of an unrepeatable period in history. But there are many names and just as many approaches, different from each other then, in philosophies and periods. To make an objective ranking of them would be almost impossible, the components involved would be too many, and often subjective. However, this does not exclude having preferences. Here is a small selection of these big names, let us know who is your favorite and who else to suggest in a further elaboration!

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Germán Frers

In the sailing world that of Germán Frers is a name ascended to legend, a signature evocative of hundreds and hundreds of outstanding projects. The father and designer of thousands of boats, including many memorable Classic Boats, Frers was born a child of the art, demonstrating great talent from a young age, from his early years in the Sparkman & Stephens firm, the largest at the time, from which he would retire in 1970, to return to Argentina.

By 1970 the successes under his name began to accumulate, first with Matrero (1971), which achieved an outstanding performance at theAdmiral’s Cup, and then with the 55-footer Scaramouche (1973), the firm’s final project to launch it to the pinnacles of sailing. In 1980 came the first project for Nautor, the
Swan 51
, immediately followed by the
First 42
of 1981 and the
Dufour 39
of 82. Instead, 1987 saw the birth of the
First 51
and the
Grand Soleil 52
, followed two years later by the
Grand Soleil 42
and the
Hallberg Rassy 36 MKI
, to be joined by the
H.R. 42 (F)
e
H.R. 46
in 1990 and 1995, respectively.

Classic Boats – Alain Jezequel

Breton by birth, Alain Jezequel is undoubtedly part of that pantheon of enlightened designers who were able to make sailing “great” in the last century. Brought up alongside the great French masters Michel Dufour and Philippe Harlé, it was later in his Italian period that he would become “great” in turn, starting with the successful collaboration with the Barberis brothers, with whom he developed the Barberis shipyard of the same name, building on the experience he had gained at Dufour with the Arpège series.

A first small success story will come to life here, the
Show 29
(1973), and then the consecration as “sixth-rate magician” and with the big hits of his Charlie Papa. From here, as they say, the rest is history, as underscored by the very successful series signed with Cantiere del Pardo, enhanced by the
Grand Soleil 35
(’81), the
Grand Soleil 39
(’83) and the
Grand Soleil 343
, signed in 1985. Unforgettable, even the small
Fax
, another gem from Breton and produced from 1991 onward.

Ron Holland

If at the age of just 13 he was already racing, by 19 the young Holland was already designing boats, beginning a successful career with his 26-footer “White Rabbit.” Trained as both a builder and a designer, Holland would leave his mark on the sailing world, moving from the projects of his New Zealand and American youth to the great successes of his Iraldian period, where the glimmers of youth turned into a more than established career, starting with the “Golden Shamrock.”

But Ron Holland does not equate only emblazoned regattas and one-off boats, having also signed several excellent series designs, including three memorable Classic Boats: the Rush 31 for Jeanneau in ’79 and the two big Polaris, the 33 e 37, in ’77 and ’80, respectively, for Altura Shipyards.

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Classic Boats – Dick Carter

Dick Carter was a revolution in boating, a sacred monster who was able to bring a totally unconventional approach to the entire industry. A much-needed fresh breath, perhaps the result of an atypical training, carried out not with other masters, as is customary, but derived from a personal fascination, combined with an academic background in engineering.

A combination of elements that led Carter to understand sailing in a way hitherto unheard of, designing hulls so radical that, in ten years of mad design flair, they were able to change the history of yachting forever. It all started with a Fastnet, it was 1965 and Carter won theEverest of Sailing with the Rabbit, a design destined to turn the boating world upside down(find the story here).

Dozens of other brilliant designs would follow, including such memorable boats as the Ydra, Tina or Optimist, and as many brilliant Classic Boats, including the brilliant
Carter 37
,
Carter 39
and Orca 43.

Andrea Vallicelli

Father of so many of the boats that made Italian sailing great-such as Brava and Azzurra, to name a few-Vallicelli is the creator of a whole pantheon of small masterpieces, many of them born one-off, winning racing boats, later mass-produced. A typical feature of the last century, which together with the growing passion for sailing knew how to contribute to the boating boom of the 1970s and 1980s. Here, undoubtedly, Vallicelli is one of the protagonists, the Italian prodigy of the regatta and the series.

From the small nine-meter to the more voluminous Two Tonner, his Ziggurats, born one off and declined in the
Ziggurat 916
e
995
. Next come the
V-Cat 38
, i
Canados 33
e
37
, the
Show 42
or theULDB 65 and the
Genesis 43
, just to name a few of his great and countless Classic Boats.

Doug Peterson

Doug Peterson, U.S. born in 1945, is another name that has become a legend. And not only for projects like the early masterpieces (Gambare, Resolute Salmon, Doctor Faust), but also for masterpieces closer to us, like that mythical Prada “silver bullet,” that Luna Rossa that made us dream at the 2000 America’s Cup.

But in addition to his successes in the America’s Cup (he won 2), Peterson is also known as the dominator of the IOR scene of the 1970s and 1980s. A self-taught designer who was able, like Carter before him, to completely upend the shipbuilding of his time. Among the great Classic Boat projects, unforgettable are his Baltic, the
42 DP
as the
38DP
, as well as his
Solaris One
, the
Grand Soleil 50
or his
Show 34
e
Impala 36
.

Three “tidbits” about Classic Boats

• Want to learn more about the world of Classic Boats (1967-1998), the iconic boats of the period, the legendary designers, the stories and races of the “golden age” of sailing? Check out our section dedicated to Classic Boats!
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