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Legendary naval architect Olin Stephens argues for the aesthetic approach.
by Ivor Wilkins with Marilyn M. Mower
photography by Ajax News and Feature Service
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10/01/2005
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"Good Lord, Charlie," exclaimed veteran British America’s Cup campaigner T.O.M. Sopwith,
"She’s like a ruddy great pantechnicon."
The "Charlie" in this derision was the foremost English yacht
designer of the day, Charles E. Nicholson. The vessel being compared to a moving
van was Endeavour II, the J-Class yacht Nicholson had just designed
for Sopwith’s 1937 Cup challenge.
 Olin Stephens, now 97 years young, designed more than 2,000 boats.
He is still vitally interested in all aspects of yacht design. Photograph by Billy Black. (Click image to enlarge)
Endeavour II was defeated that summer by the greatest J
of all time, Ranger. This American yacht heralded the debut and
meteoric rise of her co-designer, Olin Stephens.
Over the next half century, Sparkman and Stephens was the
dominant design force in racing yachts and Stephens, now in his 97th year,
remains an iconic figure. So, when he ventures a critique of the state of modern
yacht design, he is guaranteed an attentive audience. With the most gentle of
dispositions and Old World manners, Stephens is much too polite to dismiss
modern yachts as "ruddy great pantechnicons." But, possessed of a sharp
intellect and an astounding ability to cut to the chase, there is little doubt
that this is exactly how he views large modern yachts.
Top: G.L. Watson’s design for the royal yacht Britannia,
inspired Olin Stephens throughout his career. The seaworthiness of long
overhangs still finds fans today. Photograph by Mystic Seaport Museum/Rosenfeld Collection. Bottom: The lines plan is a new S&S custom project inspired by
Stormy Weather which this client admired. This
yacht, however, will have a modern canoe underbody, bulb keel and spade rudder. (Click images to enlarge)
At this year’s Yacht Vision Design Symposium in Auckland, New
Zealand, Stephens was the keynote speaker. Given that he delivered the final
address, there might have been expectation of an avuncular benediction, but that
would underestimate the man entirely. While giving praise for the technical
achievement of today’s superyachts, Stephens wondered if the essential point of
it all had become lost.
 Of his 53’11" yawl Stormy Weather Stephens said, "I liked her not only for her success, but because
she was attractive and had a certain character." Blurring the line
between racer and cruiser, she scored back-to-back transatlantic and
Fastnet victories. (Click image to enlarge)
"I just wish they looked a little bit better," he chided
gently. "Beauty is a difficult thing to speak of. I am as confused as anybody
about that," he confessed. Nonetheless, he launched an appeal for that elusive
notion of universal beauty. "I have been lucky to have interests outside of
yachts," he said. "I love listening to music and I have a great interest in
painting. A beautiful piece of music or a painting brings moisture to the
eyes and makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Britannia did
that for me, but the yachts of today do not."
Top: Michael Peters’ admiration of traditional boats was
manifested in this glamorous speedboat he drew for a client who found
more value in aesthetics than practicality. Bottom: "All of us have
drawn boats we aren’t proud of to put food on the table. Thank God for clients
who appreciate aesthetics, who understand the beauty of craftsmanship and
line." - Michael
Peters. (Click images to enlarge)
Britannia was the royal sailing yacht designed by G.L.
Watson, for Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Launched in 1893,
she measured 102 feet, carried 10,000 square feet of sail and won more than 200
first prizes in her racing career. Although Stephens’ critique was delivered
with a gentle touch, there is no question about his horror at some latter
day creations. Modern yachts, he lamented, often do not look as good as
commercial and naval vessels.
"To me, the conventional type of boat that originated with
people like Watson, Fife and, to a lesser extent, Herreshoff had it." Of
Watson and Fife, Stephens writes in his autobiography, All This and
Sailing Too: "Both set patterns for beauty, and I have paid them the
compliment of accepting them as guides to an impossible perfection."
For those who do not know Olin Stephens, it might be tempting
to dismiss his views as the nostalgia of a man clinging to his past. This would
be a mistake. He has designed and built in every material from wood to composite
and witnessed sail advance from cotton to carbon. Always embracing the future
with enthusiasm, he was an early convert to computers. He may be old, but he has
never been old-fashioned.
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