Eight Bells

[dougfrolich]

Tom Fexas passed away on Wednesday. A great man, and a great insparation to many.

Life is too short

[Eric Sponberg]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Tom was a good friend who always went out of his way to give me guidance over the last 10 years or so. It was a pleasure to talk to him from time to time, and he was certainly a big presence in boat design and construction. He will be sorely missed.

Eric

[SmithCraft64]

Death is not extinquishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come. May he rest in peace. SmithCraft64

[Willallison]

I remember going to the Melbourne (Australia) boat show in about 1979 (as a 13 year old) and bein dumbfounded at the elegance of the original Midnight Lace. I sat up late that night scribbling away on various bits of paper, doing my best to capture the beauty of her lines.
I still am.

It was his Westlawn qualification that encouraged me to enroll.

I was never fortunate enough to know the man, but to those who did, I extend my sympathies.

from IBI today...

Designer Fexas dies

By IBI Magazine

Tom Fexas, the noted US yacht designer, died last week in Stuart, Florida. He was 65.

Fexas, according to an obituary in the New York Times, opened his Yacht Design firm in 1966 but came to prominence in 1978. That year, he introduced the 13.4m (44ft) Midnight Lace at the Ft Lauderdale International Boat Show. The shapely black boat, modeled after the pre-World War II commuter boats and rum runners of Long Island Sound, was unlike other designs of the period. It had fine wood detailing, a clipper bow and low raked-back cabins. Other recreational motorboats of this time were focused on sharp, contemporary lines and had little exterior wood.

Fexas' Midnight Lace led to extensive work for European clients, and his signature style became known as "Italian styling". An updated version of Midnight Lace was introduced at this year's Ft Lauderdale Boat Show.

Fexas designed over 1,000 boats, and many have been built top boatbuilders like Palmer Johnson, Mikelson Yachts, Grand Banks, Abeking & Rasmussen and Cheoy Lee. He also had a monthly column in Power & Motoryacht magazine.

Fexas was born in Queens, New York City and attended the State University of New York Maritime College. He later graduated from the Westlawn Institute of Yacht Design and, from 1965 through 1977, worked for the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics as a nuclear project engineer for Trident Class submarines.

In the 1970s and '80s, Fexas introduced light-weight fibreglass construction to the boating industry. He is said to have calculated every construction plan down to the nuts and bolts so the boat would rest properly in the water.

Fexas is survived by his wife, Regina Fexas; his mother, Antonia Fexas; and his sister, Penelope Casas.

(5 December 2006)