robert perry yacht design

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• Sailboat Guide

Robert Perry

Probably the most influential yacht designer of the late 20th century, it’s been said there are more sailboats cruising the worlds oceans designed by Bob Perry than any other designer. He remains best known for the his  Valiant 40  design which went on to influence cruising sailboats by adding performance to a genre that had previously meant slow and heavy. Through his career he has designed boats for many well recognized names in the industry, such as Tayana, Cheoy Lee, Valiant, Baba, Ta Shing, Passport and Saga.

As a young boy he had a burning passion for yacht design. His first break came in 1970 working as an assistant Jay Benford’s offices who specialized in ferro-cement yachts that were becoming popular at the time. He went on to work in the offices of Dick Carter which gave Perry a taste of designing racing yachts to the IOR rule. Many of his subsequent cruising boat designs have been influenced by his days at the Carter office, Perry seems to bring a performance dimension to most of his designs.

His first design to make it to factory production was the Taiwanese built CT54 for John Edwards, founder Hans Christian Yachts. This connection lead on to a whole family of full keeled double enders for practically every Taiwanese yard exporting cruising yachts to the US during the 1970s and 80s including the  Tayana 37 , the most popular semi-custom boat built in that era. During those years Perry has evolved the full keel design to very much the state of the art to this present day.

Links & References

» Perry Yacht Designers Inc,  Robert Perry Bio \ »  Yacht Design According to Perry , My Boats and What Shaped Them, by Robert Perry, ISBN 978-0071465571

{% comment %} Robert Perry 11530 Tulare Way West Tulalip WA 98271 Phone: 360-652-7771 E-mail: [email protected] Bob Perry: [email protected] {% endcomment %}

99 Sailboats designed by Robert Perry

Islander 28

Islander 32-2

Islander Freeport 36

Passport 40

Flying Tiger 10M

Cheoy Lee 35

Norseman 447

Valiant Esprit 37

Seamaster 46

Perry 41/aloha 41.

Cheoy Lee 48

Hans christian 34.

Mariner 39 (Perry)

Islander Freeport 41

Passport 37

Islander 38 C

Golden Wave 42

Islander 26

Islander 34-2

C&C Landfall 39

Westsail 39

Valiant 40 PH

Passport 41

South Pacific 42

Tayana 47 CC

Cheoy Lee 43 MS

Cheoy Lee 44

Islander Bahama 28

Yachtcraft 32, islander freeport 38, islander 32-3.

Islander Bahama 26

Reliance 37.

Hans Christian 36

Passport 50

Passport 47

Passport 44, passport 456.

Passport 470 AC

Mirage 25 (Perry)

Mirage 27 (Perry)

Mirage 26 (Perry)

White wing 35/36.

Baba 40 Pilot House

Tashiba 36 PH

Valiant 42RS

Nordic 45 RS

CT-65 / Scorpio 72

Tayana 47 DS

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All Inductees > Class of 2023

Robert "Bob" Perry

June 25, 1946 -

Sydney Australia

Robert Howard “Bob” Perry has spent his career designing comfortable, attractive, and easy to sail yachts.   He has over 380 designs to his credit which have resulted in over 6,000 boats that have been launched.   He looks back on his career noting, “My hobby has been my occupation.   So far, I’ve had a good ride.   I’ve weathered a few squalls along the way, but when I survey my collection of designs, I’m proud of my productivity and durability.”   One of his most notable designs is the Valiant 40, which was called a “performance cruiser.”   The boat featured a canoe type stern with a fin keel and skeg hung rudder instead of a traditional full keel.   Other builders Perry has designed yachts for include Tayana, Cheoy Lee, Valiant, Baba, Ta Shing, Hans Christian Yachts, Islander, Passport, Pacific Seacraft, and Saga.   He is a student of his craft and has taught yacht design at Evergreen State College in Washington.   Readers of Sailing magazine are familiar with his boat reviews that have been published in every issue for over forty years.

In 2008 Perry published a review of his own career with an overview of his approach to naval architecture.   The book is titled “Yacht Design According to Perry.” It is an easy-to-read overview with helpful drawing, diagrams, and pictures of his vast collection of designs.   He explained his goal for the book, “If I’ve mixed the right ingredients in the right proportions, this book – I hope – will be something any sailor can chew on and find nutritious.”

Perry was born in Toledo, Ohio.   His mother was from Australia and talked the family into moving to Sydney when Robert was one year old.   They returned to the USA in 1957 when Bob was 12 years old.   The family traveled on a Liberty ship that barely sailed at 9 knots across the Pacific Ocean.   Perry reflects on the trip, “Looking back, I think the month-long voyage played a seminal role in my obsession with boats.   I enjoyed every day of it, including the three days we spent riding out a typhoon in the North Pacific.”

The Perry family settled in Seattle, Washington.   Bob raced Penguin dinghies and crewed with renowned yacht designer Bill Garden and even served as his apprentice one summer.   He was bored and broke and called yacht designer Jay Benford to show him a series of his yacht designs.   Perry was hired on the spot.   He spent one year with Benford before launching his own career that has been successful ever since.

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