Sunday, July 28, 2019

R.I.P Jeremy McGeary.




- "Mac", a good man recently passed away. Too young to be dead at 71 years of age.

- Mac, as he preferred to be referred to, was an encyclopedia of knowledge in all directions. From discussing Fifth Elements to boats and everything in between.

- As a yacht Designer, Mac worked for Pedrick Yacht Design, Rodger Martin Design before returning to his native place in England to become chief designer at Camper & Nicholsons.
Returning to the US, Mac worked part-time for a couple of years at Tanton Yacht Design. Always subdued, simple, honest and brilliant. Especially good at details, he helped me to complete all aspects of several notable yacht designs.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Bristol Channel Cutter Story. Old fashion, but good boats.


- Once in a while, classic boat plans are sold.

- What makes people buy older fashion sailboats in the first place?
Nostalgia comes to mind. The liking to old things; be antique furniture, houses, or cars. Boats are in a similar situation.

- Beauty? Considering the limitlessness of boat shapes, rig, and purpose somethings must tickle the senses.

- Such is the case for a series of sailboat designs that have given birth to the Modern Bristol Channel Cutters; MBCC.


- Small in sizes; up to 42', the range starts with a 26' model.

- In "Search" on this Blog, type: Tanton Design no.936, it is about the smallest one; but, she managed to go around the World.

- They have in common a certain look-alike to the famous pilot boats of a long-gone era, off the coast of England and of France. Boats designed and built to secure pilotage for the incoming merchant ships.

- But what is an M.B.C.C? To go back, we have to look at other designers who embraced the type and character of these vessels.

- Restraining myself to this side of the pound, I can name Atkin and especially Lyle Hess. because he touched a chord with a 28' close in concept to Bristol cutters and Itchen workboats with a little bit of a Smack in between. Now, I am not going into details of the latter models for definitions, but to the original BCC as Hess's and the builder came to name the breed.

- What mines look like in general.



Tanton Yacht Design is 50 years old!

  Very hard to believe.  - From being 27 years old to now and to the future. - Making me, in my field one of the oldest Design Firm in Ameri...