Design of Special Service Craft

Unique projects for discerning clients

It is a great privilege to be invited by a client to design a yacht or boat to meet their specific requirements. Taking a design commission forward from the client’s initial thoughts to a concept design and then to prepare the detailed design information for production is enormously rewarding for the designer. I am fortunate to have worked for some exceptionally enthusiastic and talented owners to develop some unique, interesting and innovative craft, a few of which are shown here.  

The Starfish dinghy, (1) currently being produced by Reid Marine of Christchurch, is a 1.5m GRP rowing boat specifically designed for use by young children between the ages of 4 and 11. In developing this design, ergonomic data for children were studied thoroughly and safety was given the highest possible attention.  More..

The 9.14m HiP30 sailing sportsboat (2) is a stylish gentleman’s racer built in FRP with a high-performance rig, lifting bulb-keel, teak-laid deck and smart leather interior. Not only very fast and responsive with great acceleration, this lovely yacht is beautifully balanced with good control from the high-aspect ratio rudder.  More..

The 34ft Ocean Voyager “Bojabe” (3), designed in 1979/80 was one of the first WEST system wood-epoxy yachts to be built in the UK. She has a number of innovative features for her time and can be controlled from below decks. She has cruised extensively, including 4 trans-Atlantic crossings as well as voyages to Alaska and the Mediterranean. She has recorded some remarkably fast passage times. More..

The 30m (100ft) steel ketch “Spirit of the East” (4) was built in Turkey in 2006 to RINA classification and coded for charter. With guest accommodation in suites, extensive cockpit lounging areas, a luxury finish down below, stunning chestnut joinery and full air-conditioning, “Spirit” is a comfortable cruiser under sail or power.

Sometimes a new design will incorporate a client’s original patented invention or new idea. The 24ft aluminium self-launching powerboat (5) has a powered under-carriage, which is lowered hydraulically so that the boat can be driven up or down a steep shingle bank. Video  The boat does 35 knots with a 175hp outboard.  More..

The 70ft steel ketch “Calypso” (6) is a modern tribute design to Joshua Slocum’s 36ft-9in “Spray” of 1895 which he sailed round the world and then described in his famous book. Built in the UK, “Calypso” is a tough and sturdy yacht which shares many of the exceptional sailing qualities of the original “Spray”.  More..

In 2008/9 two 95ft luxury steel Houseboats were built, fitted out and moored on the tidal Thames. A new 75ft steel Eco-Houseboat design (7) was completed in 2013 and includes some interesting features including windows and doors from retired cruise liners and curved glass doors from the saloon to the aft deck overlooking the river.  One very large steel houseboat has also been designed and may be built soon.  

“Skep” (8) is a new design for a 25ft trailable family sailing cruiser with gaff cutter rig. Created as a test-bed for the radical new patented Steynor lifting keel, this design is also suitable for home construction in ply-epoxy.  This boat was on show at Beale Park in June 2013 and completed sailing trials in the Solent in July.  More..

Although the design of the Queen’s Rowbarge “Gloriana” (9) was a team effort by a number of individual specialists, I am very proud to say that the technical work all started on my screen here. I was responsible for the initial design feasibility studies and proposal, hull definition, powering prediction, intact and damage stability analysis plus ongoing technical support for the duration of the 14 month project. Please read my account of the creation of Gloriana by clicking here.

Other more recent designs which are still being built include an aluminium duck shooting boat, narrow beam 55ft and 36ft steel inland cruisers and a 40ft strip-planked powerboat in wood-epoxy.  

Aluminium catamaran workboats are currently being built in King’s Lynn on the north Norfolk coast.  The most popular boat is a 6.95m catamaran (10) fitted with twin 50hp Selva outboard engines.  This model is a planing type and achieves speeds of (up to) 30 knots depending on fit-out and loading.  A larger 9.95m boat with massive deck is designed to operate very economically at displacement speeds of around 8-10 knots. This versatile boat has the capability to operate a loading device such as a knuckle-boom crane.  More..