Clark Wilbur Mills (1915, Michigan - December 11, 2001, Clearwater Florida) was an American

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

and

builder Builder may refer to: Construction * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Real estate developer, who ...

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

s. He was best known as the designer of economical and practical boats such as the

Optimist Optimism is the attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway poin ...

pram,

Windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

, Com-Pac 16 and others. He began building boats before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and after the war opened the Mills Boat Works in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

. Mills was inducted into the

National Sailing Hall of Fame The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture ...

in 2017.

Designs

* Com-Pac 16 * Com-Pac 23 * Com-Pac Sun Cat * Com-Pac Sunday Cat *

* US1 *

References

Sailing Magazine, March 1999: An 8-foot giant of a sailboatHutchins Company Profile
discusses the Com-Pac 16 designed by Clark Mills.
Builder of Snipes

National Sailing Hall of Fame Induction

Footnotes

American boat builders American yacht designers 1915 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American engineers {{shipbuilding-stub