The Tayana 37 is one of Perry's most famous and iconic designs.
A Tayana 37 under sail on the East River in New York passes under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Robert H. Perry is a U.S. yacht designer based in Seattle, Washington. Among his designs are some of the most successful cruising yachts in modern cruising such as the Tatoosh 42, Tayana 37 and Valiant 40. Through his career he has designed boats for many well recognized names in the yachting industry, such as Tayana, Cheoy Lee, Valiant, Baba, Ta Shing, Islander, Passport and Saga. Perry has taught yacht design at Evergreen State College.[1]

Early life

In 1957 when Robert H. Perry was twelve, he and his family moved from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, British Columbia. He writes that the trip made a lasting impression on him and spurred his interest in yacht design. At the beginning of his ninth-grade year, his family moved to Mercer Island, Washington, an area renowned for its school system. Here, his interest in sailboats really clicked. He met famous designer William Garden, joined the local yacht club, and excelled at mechanical drawing. Perry graduated with a 1.69 GPA from Mercer Island High School in 1964.[2] The only local college that would accept him (and on a probationary status) was Seattle University.[1] He enrolled as a mechanical engineering student, but dropped out after four years. Although the Vietnam War was growing and called him for enlistment, his childhood history of petit mal seizures made him ineligible.[2]

Career

Mirage 27 designed by Perry

In 1970, Jay Benford gave Perry his first job as a yacht designer. Benford was promoting ferro-cement boats in Seattle. Soon, Perry had his first published design, a 47-foot ketch in National Fisherman. Boatbuilder John Edwards who would found Hans Christian Yachts sent a letter to Perry in response to the 47-foot ketch. Eventually, this relationship would lead to Perry's first design, the CT 54, a clipper-bowed ketch. Ted Brewer consulted and helped Perry with the design. Ta Chaio Brothers, a Taiwanese yard built the CT 54 and the larger CT 65.[2]

Simultaneously, Perry was working on what would be his landmark design, the Valiant 40. Along with Nathan Rothman and Sylvia and Stanley Dabney, he would design the first "performance cruiser." They all met at Benford's ferro-cement studio, but even as Perry moved to work for Dick Carter they continued to strategize about building a bluewater cruising boat like the Westsail 32 that would have better performance.[3] Rothman contacted Uniflite, a Bellingham, Washington boat builder, and by 1974 the first Valiant rolled off their line. The design combined the classic canoe stern cruiser shape with a fin keel and skeg hung rudder instead of the traditional full keel.[4]

These two starts led to more design commissions for Islander Yachts and Tayana Yachts. Perry became a popular designer for Taiwan-built boats.[2]

Recent

Perry designed the latest (and largest) yacht for Pacific Seacraft, the SouthSea 61,[5] beginning work in 2007.[6]

Perry also designed a unique long narrow 62 foot double ended daysailer built at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, Washington, and launched in March, 2014.[7] This design was inspired by a number of famous classic vessels including vessels designed by L. Francis Herreshoff, Bruce King and Bill Garden. Perry was selected to create the design due to his past very successful double ended designs and the recent success of a number of his designs on the race course.

Awards

  • 1979, Yacht Racing/Cruising Magazine, Medal of Achievement for Performance Cruising Design
  • 1989, Cruising World Magazine, Cruising Hall of Fame
  • 1995, American Boatbuilders Hall of Fame, Valiant 40 inducted into Hall of Fame
  • 2023, National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee [8]

Boat designs[9][2]

Perry's Aloha 27 design
NameLengthFirst Built
ALOHA 2626.50 ft / 8.08 m1979
Aloha 2726.50 ft / 8.08 m1984
ALOHA 27126.75 ft / 8.15 m1987
ALOHA 8.226.50 ft / 8.08 m1980
Baba 3030.00 ft / 9.14 m1976
BABA 3534.83 ft / 10.62 m1979
BABA 4039.83 ft / 12.14 m1980
BABA 40 PILOT HOUSE39.83 ft / 12.14 m1980
BYSTEDT 3030.00 ft / 9.14 m1975
CHEOY LEE 3534.83 ft / 10.62 m1979
CHEOY LEE 43 MS42.78 ft / 13.04 m1981
CHEOY LEE 4443.80 ft / 13.35 m1979
CHEOY LEE 4847.83 ft / 14.58 m1980
CT-3736.67 ft / 11.18 m1976
CT-5454.00 ft / 16.46 m1975
CT-5655.50 ft / 16.92 m1986
CT-65 / SCORPIO 7264.83 ft / 19.76 m1983
EO 3635.83 ft / 10.92 m1978
ESPRIT 3737.00 ft / 11.28 m1977
FLYING TIGER 10M32.66 ft / 9.95 m2005
GOLDEN WAVE 4242.00 ft / 12.80 m1981
HANS CHRISTIAN 3434.00 ft / 10.36 m1974
ISLANDER 2625.83 ft / 7.87 m1976
ISLANDER 2827.92 ft / 8.51 m1975
ISLANDER 32-231.96 ft / 9.74 m1976
ISLANDER 32-331.96 ft / 9.74 m1977
ISLANDER 34-234.33 ft / 10.46 m1983
ISLANDER 38 C38.00 ft / 11.58 m1983
ISLANDER BAHAMA 2626.00 ft / 7.92 m1976
ISLANDER BAHAMA 2827.92 ft / 8.51 m1981
ISLANDER FREEPORT 3635.75 ft / 10.90 m1976
ISLANDER FREEPORT 3838.00 ft / 11.58 m1983
ISLANDER FREEPORT 4141.00 ft / 12.50 m1974
LAFITTE 4444.33 ft / 13.51 m1978
LAFITTE 6666.00 ft / 20.12 m1982
LANDFALL 39 (C&C)38.75 ft / 11.81 m1985
MARINER 39 (PERRY)38.83 ft / 11.84 m1981
MIRAGE 25 (PERRY)25.17 ft / 7.67 m1982
MIRAGE 26 (PERRY)26.17 ft / 7.98 m1976
Mirage 27 (Perry)27.92 ft / 8.51 m1982
Mirage 3030.00 ft / 9.14 m1983
Mirage 3232.00 ft / 9.75 m1987
Mirage 3333.50 ft / 10.21 m1982
MIRAGE 3535.50 ft / 10.82 m1983
NASSAU 4544.92 ft / 13.69 m1984
NORDIC 3434.33 ft / 10.46 m1985
Nordic 4039.70 ft / 12.10 m1982
NORDIC 4443.83 ft / 13.36 m1980
NORDIC 45 RS45.33 ft / 13.82 m1988
NORSEMAN 44744.58 ft / 13.59 m1980
NORSTAR 4039.67 ft / 12.09 m1995
NORSTAR 4443.83 ft / 13.36 m1995
PANDA 4039.91 ft / 12.16 m1983
PASSPORT 3737.00 ft / 11.28 m1984
PASSPORT 4040.67 ft / 12.40 m1980
PASSPORT 4141.33 ft / 12.60 m1987
PASSPORT 4445.50 ft / 13.87 m1995
PASSPORT 45645.50 ft / 13.87 m1995
PASSPORT 4746.58 ft / 14.20 m1983
PASSPORT 470 AC47.00 ft / 14.33 m1997
PASSPORT 5050.00 ft / 15.24 m1994
PERRY 41/ALOHA 4140.83 ft / 12.44 m1981
PERRY 4746.58 ft / 14.20 m1977
PH 4141.00 ft / 12.50 m1975
POLARIS 4342.67 ft / 13.01 m1979
RELIANCE 3737.00 ft / 11.28 m1981
SAGA 3536.50 ft / 11.13 m2000
SAGA 4343.25 ft / 13.18 m1996
SAGA 4852.30 ft / 15.94 m2003
SCORPIO 7265.00 ft / 19.81 m1982
SEAMASTER 4646.00 ft / 14.02 m1981
SOUTH PACIFIC 4241.92 ft / 12.78 m1988
SUN 2727.50 ft / 8.38 m1977
SUN 2828.00 ft / 8.53 m1977
SUN 83827.50 ft / 8.38 m1977
TASHIBA 3131.19 ft / 9.51 m1986
TASHIBA 3636.00 ft / 10.97 m1986
TASHIBA 36 PH36.00 ft / 10.97 m1986
TASHIBA 4039.87 ft / 12.15 m1984
TATOOSH 4241.83 ft / 12.75 m1980
TATOOSH 5150.58 ft / 15.42 m1983
Tayana 3736.67 ft / 11.18 m1976
TAYANA 47 CC47.00 ft / 14.33 m1991
TAYANA 47 DS47.00 ft / 14.33 m1991
TAYANA 5252.42 ft / 15.98 m1983
UNION 3636.67 ft / 11.18 m1977
VALIANT 3232.00 ft / 9.75 m1976
VALIANT 3737.00 ft / 11.28 m1977
VALIANT 3939.33 ft / 11.99 m1995
Valiant 40 (101-199)39.92 ft / 12.17 m1973
Valiant 40 (200-235)39.92 ft / 12.17 m1978
VALIANT 40 PH39.82 ft / 12.14 m1981
VALIANT 40-239.82 ft / 12.14 m1981
VALIANT 4242.00 ft / 12.80 m1992
VALIANT 42RS42.00 ft / 12.80 m1992
VALIANT 4747.00 ft / 14.33 m1981
VALIANT 5050.67 ft / 15.44 m1997
VALIANT ESPRIT 3737.00 ft / 11.28 m1978
WESTSAIL 3938.67 ft / 11.79 m1979
WHITE WING 35/3635.93 ft / 10.95 m1980
YACHTCRAFT 3231.92 ft / 9.73 m1976

References

  1. 1 2 Robert Perry bio on perryboat.com
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Perry, Robert (1 December 2007). Yacht Design According to Perry. International Marine Publishing Co. p. 240. ISBN 9780071465571.
  3. ↑ Kretschmer, John, Used Boat Notebook, pp. 143–146
  4. ↑ Dabney, Sylvia (October 1998), "The Birth of the Valiant", Good Old Boat
  5. ↑ "SouthSea 61 Specifications". Pacific Seacraft. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Pacific Seacraft press release
  7. ↑ "Launchings Francis Lee". Woodenboat Magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Jobson, Gary. "Robert (Bob) Perry". National Sailing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Production Boats". Robert H. Perry Yacht Designers, Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
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