Headings: Designers' Conference

We interviewed five leading designers of recreational and cruising boats to better understand the way they view the market and what considerations reside behind the designs they produce.

Bob Perry has over 30 designs to his credit, among them the oceangoing Valiant 40 above.

Beyond the text and photos contained in a sailboat manufacturing company’s brochures, and the words of a dealer or salesperson, and absent an understanding of yacht design, discerning the actual capabilities of today’s production boats is a major task. Gone are the days of Herreschoff et. al., when the conventional wisdom held that a long, deep keel was the best method of producing good tracking, displacement produced a seakindly ride, and performance (straightforward speed) was a simple matter of adding sail area. Prior to the age of fiberglass, most yachts used similar raw materials (wood and metal), and construction methods, so those variables were not generally a consideration.…