Ian Douglas Ben Proctor (12 July 1918 – 23 July 1992) was a British designer of boats, both sailing dinghies and cruisers. He had more than one hundred designs to his credit, from which an estimate of at least 65,000 boats were built. His pioneering aluminium mast designs also revolutionised the sport of

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' ( sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' ( iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

Early life and education

Proctor was a son of Douglas McIntyre Proctor and Mary Albina Louise Proctor (née Tredwen).''Who's Who? 2009 & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2009, online edition, 2009 He was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free ...

Holt, Norfolk Holt is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town has a population of 3,550, rising and including the ward to ...

.''I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School'' by S.G.G. Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) p. 39 After leaving school, he studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. In 1943, he married Elizabeth Anne Gifford Lywood, the daughter of Air Vice-Marshal O. G. Lywood, CB, CBE. They had three sons and a daughter. Proctor contracted

Polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

in Alexandria, and lived the remainder of his life with weakened lungs, arm and shoulder.

Career

Early career

From 1942 to 1946, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Proctor was a Flying Officer in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

. From 1947 to 1948, he was Managing Director of Gosport Yacht Co., then, from 1948 to 1950, he was joint editor of ''Yachtsman Magazine''.

Dinghy designer

Ian Proctor first began to design dinghies professionally in 1950. The National 12 was soon followed by the Merlin Rocket. Proctor's early designs were met with immediate success, winning championships from 1950 to 1952. His design of Proctor Spars revolutionised dinghy sailing. Then in 1958 he designed the

Wayfarer A wayfarer is a person who travels on foot. It may also refer to: Literature * ''The Wayfarer'' (novel), a 1912 novel by Natsume Sōseki * ''Wayfarer'', a book in the ''Faery Rebels'' series by Canadian author R. J. Anderson * ''Wayfarers,'' a s ...

, which soon became a hit with sailing schools and still has a strong following in racing and cruising circles. One Wayfarer was sailed from the UK to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

by Frank Dye, and this boat is now on display at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

, Falmouth. The most widely known of all Ian Proctor designs has to be the Topper of which more than 46,000 have been produced to date. This was the first sailing dinghy to be produced from injection moulded plastic; a system which cost a million pounds to set up and was the largest single mold at the time. The first boats however were built from glassfibre (GRP). There is a large topper racing circuit in the UK and also like the Wanderer has an enthusiastic racing following.

Yacht designer

Although better known for his dinghy designs and aluminium masts, Ian Proctor was also responsible for the design of several small cruisers. His first cruiser was the

Seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

for Bell Woodworking, followed shortly afterwards by the Seamew. Later on there was the Nimrod, Eclipse, Pirate, and the Prelude.

Mast designer

In 1953 Ian Proctor's 'Cirrus' had an all-metal mast. Proctor quickly realised the potential of metal masts and in 1953 he designed the first all-metal tapered and extruded mast for sailing dinghies. Then in 1955 he established 'Ian Proctor Metal Masts Limited' as a commercial venture. Proctor Masts soon became the leading metal mast producers for all types of sailing craft. Indeed, by 1960, 13 different countries were using Proctor masts in the Olympics and the 1987

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

featured 12 boats using Proctor masts. Proctor Masts eventually became part of the Sélden group, and now trade as Sélden masts.

Writing

Proctor wrote extensively about sailing. As well as his earlier stint as joint editor of ''Yachtsman Magazine'', he was, from 1950 to 1964, the yachting correspondent of the '' Daily Telegraph''. His books included: *''Racing Dinghy Handling'', 1948 *''Racing Dinghy Maintenance'', 1949 *''Sailing: Wind and Current'', 1950 *''Boats for Sailing'', 1968 *''Sailing Strategy'', 1977

Ian Proctor Designs

Adventuress Adventuress may refer to: *A female adventurer * ''Adventuress'' (schooner) *Adventuress (dinghy) *''The Adventuress'', American title of the 1946 British drama film '' I See a Dark Stranger'' *''An Adventuress ''The Isle of Love'' is a 1922 re ...

* Beaufort *

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

Bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervises ...

* CL 16 *

Gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

Kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour ...

, the first dinghy designed to be built in glass fibre. *

Leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. ...

, Built by Thomas Thompson of Carlow and adopted by Blessington Sailing Club. (About 10 boats built.) *

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to der ...

* Merlin Rocket (not the only designer as the Merlin Rocket is a development class) * Minisail *

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

, commissioned by Newbridge Yachts. * National 18 (1968) * Nimrod, commissioned by Westerly *

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, raced as a One-Design class and despite the cosmetic improvements that have occurred since the designs inception, older boats can still (and often do) compete at the top end of the fleet. * Pirate, commissioned by Rydgeway Marine * Prelude, commissioned by Rydgeway Marine *

, commissioned by Bell Woodworking *

Seamew Sea mew or seamew may refer to: * Black-legged kittiwake * Common gull, also called sea mew * Supermarine Seamew The Supermarine Seamew was a British twin engined amphibian, built by the Supermarine company, intended as a small, shipborne a ...

, commissioned by Bell Woodworking *

SigneT Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

* Topper *

Wanderer Wanderer, Wanderers, or The Wanderer may refer to: * Nomadic and/or itinerant people, working short-term before moving to other locations, who wander from place to place with no permanent home, or are vagrant * The Wanderer, an alternate name for ...

Honours and awards

Royal Designer for Industry Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained ...

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

* Yachtsman of the Year, 1965. Unusually awarded for his work as a designer rather as a noted yachtsman. * Council of Industrial Design Award, 1967 * Design Council Awards, 1977, 1980