Walt Walters, Mister Lucky
You know you’re getting old when today’s generation of hot-shot designers tell you they’ve never heard of someone you consider an American hall of famer. Case in point: I was… Read more »
Author: Dan Spurr
Frank Butler Farewell
Frank Butler, founder of the largest builder of sailboats in the U.S., died November 15, 2020, in Long Beach, California. He was 92. Butler founded Catalina Yachts in 1969, in… Read more »
A Pearson Vanguard For the Ages
A few years ago, a friend wanted to enter his 1960s-era Luders 33 in the Marion–Bermuda race, but a surveyor, without citing any specific shortcoming, declined to stamp it. “These… Read more »
Short Cuts 184
On October 28, 2019, the iconic naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm Sparkman & Stephens celebrated its 90th anniversary. Founded in 1929 by Drake Sparkman, James Sparkman, Jason Murray, Rod… Read more »
Schaefer Yachts Eliminates Steering Wheel
Schaefer Yachts, a Brazilian builder of 30‘–86‘ (9.1m–26m) motoryachts, recently launched a 58‘ (17.8m) model without a wheel at the main helm. Control is with a Volvo Penta joystick; propulsion… Read more »
Zephyrwerks Expands Sheaves Lineup
Artisan craftsman and knife maker Ed Louchard of Port Townsend, Washington, who also runs his Zephyrwerks block business, has expanded his product line to a variety of boat equipment. Notably… Read more »
Pakayak Bluefin: Portability in Six Parts
The Pakayak Bluefin is a 14‘ (4.3m) six-part nesting kayak made of rotomolded polyethylene with silicone gaskets and 300-psi clamps that its maker says can be assembled by anyone in… Read more »
DCMC Delves Into 3D-Printed Tooling
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is emerging as a viable alternative to the now-popular subtractive process employing 3- and 5-axis milling machines/routers to make tools for parts as large as… Read more »
Olaf Harken: 1939-2019
A hard-working, innovative leader in the sailing world died October 21, 2019, in his longtime home of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Olaf Harken was 80. With older brother Peter the two began… Read more »
Gunboat is Back
Actually, this builder of high-performance luxury cruising-catamaran sailing yachts has been back since 2016, the year Grand Large Yachts (parent of Allures, Garcia, and Outremer) bought the assets of… Read more »
