Ted Gozzard
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Hedley (Ted) Gozzard (13 June 1933 – 15 May 2014) was a British yacht designer and builder. Gozzard was raised in
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,
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,
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, where he apprenticed as a carpenter-joiner and gradually earned his journeyman’s papers in boat building, masonry and carpentry. Gozzard served in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
for a number of years as an
airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...
mechanic. On leaving the RAF in 1959 Gozzard came to Ontario and worked in the construction business in London, Ontario, where he designed and supervised the construction of homes and subdivisions. In his spare time he built and sailed a much modified Thunderbird. Giving in to an urge to sail full time, Gozzard and his wife, Jan, and their two young sons made the
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their home for two full years.


45' Trimaran ''Manta''

In the Caribbean the Gozzard and family experienced multihull sailing for the first time, enjoying the speed combined with space and shoal draft. When the family moved back to Canada, Gozzard designed and built the
trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...
, ''Manta'' in London, Ontario. In the early part of 1970 Gozzard relocated to the Village of
Bayfield, Ontario Bayfield is a community in the municipality of Bluewater, Huron County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a 2016 population of 1,112. Bluewater Municipality includes Bayfield, Bruce field, Dashwood, Hensall, Varna, and Zurich This municipal ...
. One of the main reasons for residing in Bayfield was to carry out testing on ''Manta''. Gozzard had built this trimaran for the sole purpose of returning to the Bahamas aboard a boat with good living space for a family of four and a tutor. A quote from the Gozzard Yachts website:
Once a few people saw the rather unique trimaran (remember this is 1970 and multihull were taboo), Ted’s skills as a boat builder were apparent and all of a sudden “boats” became a large part of our lives. Bayfield Boat Yard followed shortly as the company Ted was doing business as. By 1972/3 BBY evolved from a boat yard into Bayfield Boat Yard Limited, which was the manufacturing company, with the help of Gary Ferguson who ordered the first 10 Bayfield 23s. The B23 was specifically designed to be Ted’s solution to Gary’s concept for a pocket cruiser. Gary eventually became one of the original partners and if anyone deserves credit for helping start BBY it is Gary Ferguson.
In 1970 Gozzard became involved with designing and building a schooner named ''Twilight'' which was built on the waterfront in Bayfield. The ''Twilight'' was advertised, and many inquiries came. One individual who inquired wanted to build a smaller version of the ''Twilight''. This smaller version, at , later to be called the
Bayfield 25 The Bayfield 25 is a Canadian pocket cruiser sailboat, that was designed by Ted Gozzard and first built in 1975.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 162-163. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994 ...
, was the start of the Bayfield line of yachts.


Bayfield Boat Yard

Gozzard continued designing and building cruising yachts, in the early days also repairing canoes, building
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cowlings for snowmobiles and the odd “OK” Dinghy. In 1970 Gozzard founded Bayfield Boat Yard Ltd. (BBY) in Bayfield, Ontario. The Bayfield 23/25 was the first model produced. Gozzard designed by carving a wooden hull model, believing that while computers are capable of a great deal, they can’t predict exactly how a hull will perform once built. Gozzard felt a trained eye had a better chance of producing a beautiful boat. Gozzard also offered to modify any aspect of a Bayfield boat for an existing owner as part of his design services, at no charge.(Facts courtesy of the Bayfield Breezes newsletter, Spring 1977)


North Castle Marine Ltd.

Gozzard sold his interest in Bayfield in July 1981 and shortly thereafter, in February 1982, North Castle Marine Ltd./Gozzard Yachts in
Goderich, Ontario Goderich ( or ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by John Galt and William "Tiger" Dunlop of the Canada Company in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after ...
was founded. At North Castle Marine Ltd/Gozzard Yachts, the Pilgrim 40 motor yacht was designed and built, with the line of sailing yachts now known as Gozzard Yachts soon following. Gozzard Yachts went on to produce sailboats in 31', 36', 37', 41' and 44' designs. In 1983 Gozzard's two sons joined the company. Mike, the eldest, plays an active role in all aspects of the company as the production manager. Wes began as the Company's upholsterer and now commissions and delivers boats. Mike's wife Elizabeth (Liz) holds the position of purchase manager. In 2009 Gozzard suffered a stroke but remained active in the business, coming into the office three days a week.


Death

Gozzard died peacefully at his home on Thursday, 15 May 2014 at age 80.


Boat designs

*
Bayfield 25 The Bayfield 25 is a Canadian pocket cruiser sailboat, that was designed by Ted Gozzard and first built in 1975.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 162-163. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994 ...
* Bayfield 29 * Bayfield 30/32 * Bayfield 40 * Gozzard 31 * Gozzard 36 * Gozzard 37 * Gozzard 41 * Gozzard 44 * North Castle 36 * Pilgrim 40


See also

*
List of sailboat designers and manufacturers This is a list of notable sailboat designers and manufacturers, which are described by an article in English Wikipedia. Sailboat design and manufacturing is done by a number of companies and groups. Notable designers Sailboat designer articles ...


References


External links


Gozzard Yachts Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gozzard, Ted Canadian yacht designers Canadian boat builders 1933 births 2014 deaths