John Laurent Giles (1901–1969) was an English

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

who was particularly famous for his

sailing yachts A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...

. He and his company, Laurent Giles & Partners Ltd, have designed more than 1400 boats from cruisers and racing yachts to megayachts.

Examples

Notable examples of Laurent Giles' work include the famous Vertue (sail numbers suggest that some 230 of these have been made), Wanderer III, the 30' sloop in which

Eric and Susan Hiscock Eric Charles Hiscock (14 March 1908 – 15 September 1986) was a British sailor and author of books on small boat sailing and ocean cruising. Together with his wife and crew Susan Oakes Hiscock (née Sclater; 18 May 1913 – 12 May 1995), he a ...

circumnavigated, and the race-winning Gulvain, the first ocean racing yacht to be made from an aluminium alloy. His famous ''Myth of Malham'', a revolutionary small displacement yacht for John Illingworth, was inspired by developments in aeronautics; the novel design helped win the

Fastnet race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after th ...

in 1947 and 1949. The updated Miranda IV of 1951 had a rudder mounted separately from the aft of the keel (a 'spade rudder') which heralded the arrival of the modern period of yacht design. Laurent Giles described as part of his design philosophy that a yacht should have "the utmost docility and sureness of manoeuvring at sea, in good or bad weather" - his boats were designed to maintain a steady course with minimal action by the helmsman but respond instantly to the helm if the need arose. He was awarded the honour of

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 ...

in 1951.

Select List of Designs by Laurent Giles

* First Yacht Lutine (C&N 60') * Gulvain * Jolly Boat (Laurent Giles) * Vive Sailboat 33', 1950 (Woodnutts-Laurent Giles) * Lymington-L-Class (1933) and the later modified/ revised L-Class design of 1955 * Maid of Malin * Peter Duck (yacht) * R.N.S.A. 24 (32'), 1947 *

Robert C. Seamans (ship) SSV ''Robert C. Seamans'' is a steel sailing brigantine operated by the Sea Education Association (SEA) for oceanographic research and sail training; designed by Laurent Giles, she is named for former Secretary of the Air Force and NASA Deputy Ad ...

* Sails Of Dawn, Mc Gruer 57', 1969, the final yacht before Giles' death * Seamaster Sailer 19 * Seamaster Sailer 23 * Vertue (yacht) * Vertue II- a beamier version of the original Vertue design, mostly made in GRP * Wanderer Class, 29’9”, 9 tons * Westerly Yachts ( Westerly Marine Construction Ltd) - a number of designs, including their Centaur 26, Pageant 24, Chieftain 26, GK24, Longbow 31, Westerly 33, Discus 33 and Konsort 29.

External links

Laurent Giles Naval Architects

Sailboat designs of Jack Laurent Giles at Sailboatdata.com

The Laurent Giles Archive
includes a full register of yachts; original construction and outfit drawings for many of projects produced by Laurent Giles & partners Ltd (1927 - 1979), Laurent Giles Ltd (1979 - 1987)and Laurent Giles Naval Architects Ltd (1987–present) are available.

including GK 24.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurent Giles, John 1901 births 1969 deaths British yacht designers

Examples

Select List of Designs by Laurent Giles

See also

External links

Notes

References