Robert Finch (April 14, 1930- August 9, 2016) was an American

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

designer who created 18 sailboat designs during the 1970s including the Catalina 27 (with Frank Butler), the Dawson 26 and the

Parker Dawson 26 The Parker Dawson 26 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Robert Finch as a cruiser and first built in 1972.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 172-173. Houghton Mif ...

Early life

On April 4, 1930, Robert Joseph Finch was born in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to Margaret and Robert Arnold Finch; he grew up in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In 1947, he convinced sailors on a Dagmar Salen M/S (a Merchant Marine ship) that was traveling to China to become a

deckhand An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

for the summer. In 1950, he married Carol whom he met in high school and went on to have five children in

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

Career

During the 1950s, Finch constructed his first boat from plans in Popular Mechanics which ultimately started a fervor for designing, building and racing his own sailboats. He designed 14 production boats with some boats being for

Catalina Yachts Catalina Yachts is a U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from eight to 54 feet in length. It was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, California by Frank Butler (founder), Frank Butler . Catalina Yachts is ...

and Islander Yachts, as well as his own custom boats in which some he built himself. In 1971, he made the design for the Catalina 27 with Frank Butler. Unlike other boats, production of the boat started without any tweaks to the original design. A total of 6662 Catalina 27 boats were produced. During the 1970s,

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

launched Bob Finch Books for Finch and became a popular dealer of the magazines. He had gained an interest in polar exploration, leading him to rename his company to "High Latitude," and became a noted expert on rare Arctic and

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

books and artifacts. He was described by Cardiologist William D. Priester in a tribute dinner saying that Finch had done more than anyone in his polar collecting field. In 1980, he retired from Culver City Fire Department as captain.

Death

On August 9, 2016, Finch died of a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

Swedish Hospital Swedish Hospital (formerly Swedish Covenant Hospital) is a 312-bed nonprofit teaching hospital located on the north side of Chicago, Illinois. The hospital offers over 50 medical specialties, including neurosurgery for the spine and brain, integ ...

at the age of 86. A private memorial service was held, with donations being accepted to the Bainbridge Island Fire Department.

Personal life

In total, Finch had five children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He and his wife built three houses while on

Bainbridge Island, Washington Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 24,825 at the 2020 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. The island is s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Robert 1930 births 2016 deaths American sailors American yacht designers Yacht designers People from Houston