Lock Crowther (9 September 1940–1993; first name by birth Lachlan) was an Australian

multihull A multihull is a boat or ship with more than one Hull (watercraft), hull, whereas a vessel with a single hull is a monohull. The most common multihulls are catamarans (with two hulls), and trimarans (with three hulls). There are other types, wi ...

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

designer. He grew up in Bairnsdale in the

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia covering (14%) of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: Ea ...

region of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Though his first name was Lachlan by birth, he insisted on being called Lock or Lockie.

Career

Lock and his family built his first boat, a trimaran called ''

Bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

'', in 1959 while he was still a teenager. In 1960 he raced in the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

regatta at Paynesville,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and won against a field of 300 boats. This initial success inspired others to build similar boats. Crowther then studied electrical engineering in Melbourne and in the early 1960s became involved in multihull design and the ''

Amateur Yacht Research Society An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History His ...

''. In 1962 ''Trio'' was built based upon his designs. Crowther's next design was the

Kraken 25 Kraken 25 was a day racing trimaran sailboat designed by Lock Crowther in the wake of his successful Bunyip 20 design.''Scanned specification brochure for Kraken 18 / Kraken 25 / Bunyip 20.'' Advertised as "Virtually a C Class trimaran of unbelie ...

, garnering some recognition. Later, Lockie decided to give up his day job in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and move to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to design multihulls full-time. In 1969, a

Kraken 40 Kraken 40 is a trimaran designed by Lock Crowther in Australia and first built in 1970. See also *List of multihulls *Lock Crowther * Kraken 18 *Kraken 25 Kraken 25 was a day racing trimaran sailboat designed by Lock Crowther in the wake of hi ...

won the New York to Bermuda race with him aboard. Crowther's first offshore racing trimaran, ''

Bandersnatch A bandersnatch is a fictional creature in Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'' and his 1874 poem ''The Hunting of the Snark''. Although neither work describes the appearance of a bandersnatch in great detail, in ''The Hunting ...

'', won the

Sydney to Hobart The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual oceanic yacht racing event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately ...

multihull race in 1996.

Legacy

During Crowther's career, over 2500 of his designs were built. A notable design was the trimaran ''Spirit of America'', an early user of GRP-foam sandwich construction featuring composite beams with unidirectional fibres and turned-down ends. Crowther also developed 'bulbous bows' to reduce pitching, and thus increase speed when sailing upwind in a swell. After Crowther's death in 1993, Crowther Designs was run by his son, Brett. Based in northern

, it merged with Incat Designs - Sydney in 2005 to form

Incat Crowther Incat Crowther is an Australian marine engineering company, headquartered in Sydney. Incat Crowther has offices in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States and Eastleigh, England. The company has a diverse product portfolio of designs for monohull, ...

. Some Crowther designs are now offered through

-base
Bloomfield Innovation
run by a former associate.

Designs

Please note this list is incomplete. *

Bunyip 20 Bunyip 20 was a day racing trimaran sailboat designed and built by Lock Crowther and his family in 1959, while he was still a teenager.''Scanned specification brochure for Kraken 18 / Kraken 25 / Bunyip 20.'' It was named after the Bunyip, an Aus ...

(1959) *''

Trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

'' (1962) * Buccaneer 24 * Buccaneer 28 * Buccaneer 33 * Buccaneer 35 *Buccaneer 36 * Buccaneer 40 *

Kraken 18 Kraken 18 was a day racing trimaran sailboat designed by Lock Crowther in the wake of his successful Bunyip 20 design,''Scanned specification brochure for Kraken 18 / Kraken 25 / Bunyip 20.'' as a scaled-down version of the earlier Kraken 25 with ...

Kraken 33 Kraken 33 Mk IV was a 4–5 berthBrochure of the Trimaran Yacht Club of Victoria. 1977 (or earlier). Accessed State Library of New South Wales, inside second volume of Trimaran Yacht Club of Victoria newsletters, 7 February 2015. ocean racing t ...

*spindrift 37 *Quickcat (1986 Auckland Ferry)

References

External links

*http://www.incatcrowther.com/ Incat Crowther {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Lock 1993 deaths Multihull designers 1940 births