Jack Holt,
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(8 April 1912 – 14 November 1995) was a prolific designer of
sailing dinghies. His pioneering designs of dinghies using
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
did much to popularise the sport of
sailing in the period immediately following
World War II.
Born in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
,
London near the
River Thames Holt designed more than 40 boats, many of which are listed below. He worked for many years with fellow sailing enthusiast and businessman
Beecher Moore.
Jack Holt was awarded an
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1979 for his services to sailing.
Sailing Clubs
Jack Holt has been associated with several sailing clubs. His premises were next door to
Ranelagh Sailing Club, and he designed the Merlin Rocket and his National 12 designs there.
In 1956 he was a co-founder of
Wraysbury Lake Sailing Club.
He was closely associated with the
London Corinthian Sailing Club
The London Corinthian Sailing Club is based on the river Thames at Hammersmith. Its activities include Dinghy sailing and racing on the river, and yachting in the Solent and further afield, as well as an active social side including 'Club Night ...
, very close to his Putney premises.
Jack Holt Designs
*Bumblebee
*
Caboodle was a simple kit built singlehander
*
Cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
*
Diamond Keelboat
*
Enterprise
*
Explorer (dinghy)
*
GP14
*
Heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
*
Hornet
*
Ideal
*
International 10sq m Canoe
*
International 14
*
Jacksnipe
*Jacksprat tender
*
Lazy E, later renamed to National E
*
Merlin Rocket
*
Miracle
*
Mirror
*
Mirror 16
The Mirror 16 is a class of sailing dinghy which was sponsored by the Daily Mirror newspaper in 1963 and the design project was headed by Jack Holt. Its design was based upon the easy to construct stitch and glue principle introduced by Barry Buck ...
*
National 12
*
North Norfolk 16
*
Pacer, formerly Puffin Pacer
*Pandamaran
*
Rambler
*
Solo
*
Streaker
*
Vagabond
A selection of Jack Holt plans are held in the archives of the
National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
Boatbuilding
In addition to designing boats, Jack was also a boatbuilder. His fittings business was in the loft above the boatbuilding workshop. Naturally he built all the boats he designed, but he also built boats designed by others, including the
Albacore.
Sailing fittings
Jack collaborated with Glen and Tony Allen from
Essex to manufacture and supply a lightweight range of dinghy fittings, the fittings were known as ''Holt Allen'' fittings for 52 years until 2008 when the Allen side decided to distribute the fittings themselves under the brand ''Allen''. The companies now trade separately as Holt Marine Ltd. and Allen Brothers (Fittings) Ltd.
Allen Brothers (Fittings) Ltd.- About us 'The Allen pedigree is unquestionable, the company having been in the marine business since 1956'
''allenbrothers.co.uk'', accessed 10 December 2018 Holt Allen also made masts and spars for dinghies and a wide variety of other boat related fittings. Most of the fittings for the Mirror, Miracle, Mirror 14, Mirror 16 and Streaker were all provided by Holt Allen
Sailmaker
Sails for early Puffins, those with a puffin silhouette on the main, were deep blue in colour and were made by Jack Holt Sails of Putney, England. Holt sails made sails for a large number of dinghy classes for many years from the 1970s to around the early 2000s
Notes
External links
Allen Brothers (Fittings) Ltd website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Jack
*
H
English designers
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
1912 births
1995 deaths