Olin Stevens

[brian eiland]

I saw this short piece in Scuttlebutt Europe, and thought it had to be put on this forum of boat design. This fellow was such an inspiration to many of the top designers of today. To hear that he is doing quite well at this age is wonderful, particulary considering the recent passing of our older President.

And should some younger persons like to experience this man's work I would recommend they have a look at the recent book, "Lines: A Half-Century of Yacht Designs by Sparkman & Stephens, 1930–1980"
___________________________
OLIN STEPHENS
The spritely, 96 year old naval architect Olin Stephens was delighted to
receive the Camper & Nicholsons Trophee d'Elegance at Les Voiles d'Antibes
(2-6 June). Famous for his designs ranging from the Fastnet Race winner
Dorade, some three quarters of a century ago, and Ranger, to the Nautor's
Swan 65, Stephens was out on the water and attending the events throughout this classic and vintage yacht regatta.

A photo of Olin (looking better than most 60 year olds!) is at
http://www.cnconnect.com/charter/events.asp?newsid=351

[brian eiland]

I just happened across this introduction to the book:

The practice of yacht design, at least as it was understood in the sailing world in the middle of the last century, combined art, instinct, experience, and the beginnings of mathematical modeling. It marked the end of an era when boats were designed by eye at a drawing board or by feel with carved half models, an era when the art practiced by the likes of Herreshoff, Burgess, and Alden slowly transformed itself into something more nearly approaching a science. No one made that transition better than Olin Stephens, whose racing yachts, from ocean cruisers like Bolero and Stormy Weather, to shoal draft designs like Finisterre, to Twelve Metre designs like Columbia, Constellation, and Courageous, routinely not only brought home the gold but also were immediately identifiable for the sheer beauty of their lines. A design from the pen of Olin Stephens is as instantly recognizable as a drawing by Winslow Homer or Louis Sullivan, and the yachts that came from the S&S office in New York proved, time and again, that beauty of line was not inconsistent with speed and racing performance.

In this oversized, limited edition book, Mr. Stephens has selected his personal favorites, written brief descriptions of each, and presented a minimum of two of the original lines plans. These are reproduced from the originals, sometimes tattered and worn, but always showing the play and genius of the human hand. Although supremely functional in both their execution and intent, they are, in their own way, as beautiful and beguiling as any human artifact. We will be printing 1500 copies of the trade edition and 200 copies of a limited edition, signed by Mr. Stephens, specially bound and housed in a sturdy slipcase.

[dougfrolich]

Re: Lines: A Half Century of Yacht Design.

I have this book, It is wonderful. Hardly a day passes that I do not thumb through and discover somthing new and interesting--great book!!!

[tspeer]

I had the pleasure of dinner with Olin Stephens a few years ago. What a delightful man to talk with! He said his greatest regret was his involvement with the IOR rule, because of the direction it took yacht design for so long. He's definitely one of the fathers of the modern engineering approach to sailing yacht design, as well as a true artist!

[jac]

I have a 42 ' motorsailor from Colvic . She is a sloop with NO Boom !
I sailed more than 30 000 miles with this rigging, from England to the Med and crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean....
I love this no boom rigging for safety and simplicity , but I did no see much of those around .
Visit my site at www.geocities.com/lechats

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by jac

She is a sloop with NO Boom !
I love this no boom rigging for safety and simplicity , but I did no see much of those around .

I see that you have just recently joined the forum. Interesting observation about boomless sailing. You might find considerable more such discussions at Loose footed mains . Maybe you could add your additional observations there. For your info, the "search" function is pretty handy for looking up previous discussions...just click it on.

Would you define your vessel as a motorsailer? Try that word with the search button.

Cheers

[Stephen Ditmore]

Back to the subject of Olin Stephens... he spoke to my class at the Landing School in early 1991. I think people (I among them) were expecting him to talk about how to design a low drag, race winning hull shape. Instead he led off by saying (this is from my sometimes slippery memory):

There are priorities that ought to be kept straight when designing any vessel. The most important thing, it seems to me, is that a vessel be strong enough. The next most important is that it be stable enough. And a bit farther down the ladder, but still absolutely necessary, is that the craft be controllable. Everything else, drag reduction and what-not, must come after those three things, and a designer's time and attention should be allocated accordingly in all but the very rare case.