Beauty with a purpose

By ROBIN BAILEY

A man whose lifelong interest is boats, any sort of boats, is the first to have his work as a designer recognised at the New Zealand National Maritime Museum.

Thrilled about the honour, and keen to share his achievements with others, Aucklander Jim Young richly deserves the lead role in a series of exhibitions to acknowledge some of this country's most influential modern era designers.

The Young tribute is on now and runs until April 27. Des Townson follows (April 30 to May 9), then it is Bruce Farr's turn (May 14 to 23).

Others will be featured once museum CEO Larry Robbins and his team have had the chance to assess the impact of the initial trio in grabbing the attention of visitors.

Wellington-born in 1925, Young moved to Auckland as a child and had his first sailing experience as a pupil at Otahuhu Primary School. He was hooked and at 15 decided to make boats his career. Unable to get an apprenticeship with a yacht builder, he found a place at Shipbuilders, repairing scows, fishing boats and coastal ships. During World War II he helped to build minesweepers and patrol boats.

Young: "I had to go to night school at Seddon Tech as part of my apprenticeship and was taught design by John Brooke and Alec Collings. They taught us how to put a design together, but we didn't learn what makes a yacht tick. We had to learn that our own way, by observation, by thinking about it, reading books, looking at boats and designs, and above all, through time spent sailing."

Unable to build boats at work during wartime, he started building them in his spare time. The first was a Z-Class built in the loft of a Devonport bakery. Then followed Daybreak, an X-Class.

Out of his apprenticeship, Jim went into the Army as part of the J-Force military occupation in Japan, where he commanded a 45ft patrol boat. He also built what he believes is one of Japan's first yachts, a 13ft centreboarder made from Japanese pine with sails sewn from Army tent canvas.

Back home he went into partnership with Jack Taylor at Onehunga, building dinghies and small yachts. He also worked on the 54ft Leda, being built privately at Northcote. By 1949 he was dedicated to racing and built the X-Class White Heather. In it he won the Sanders Cup that year, one of only two boats to finish a regatta raced in horrendous conditions.

The groundwork was now firmly in place and Young branched out on his own in Birkenhead. First order was Cleone, a 30ft launch designed by Bill Couldrey who, along with L. Francis Herreshoff was to have a big influence on Young's development.

Couldrey's boats were artistically proportioned and expressed themselves beautifully, he says. But the versatility of Herreshoff impressed most. "Although I have always been a yacht designer, I am interested in boats of all types - fishing boats, powerboats, tugs, dinghies, flat-bottom punts, catamarans, trimarans. They all have their place.

"Remember this: If a boat is designed for a particular purpose and achieves that purpose, then it is a good design. That is the challenge we face."

The Jim Young story is a succession of breakthrough craft. Among them Fiery Cross (1953) a swing-keel speedster that was the first laminated keeler built upside down in New Zealand. Launched after five years of spare-time toil, the yacht was, and still is, a dream to sail. Next came Tango, the first cruising yacht with a fin keel and spade rudder in 1953.

The next year he pioneered racing and cruising catamarans here. One of the quickest was Kitty, winner of the Australasian unrestricted 12ft championship in 1958. After that multi-hulls were banned.

The next big breakthrough was in 1961, using the lightweight laminated construction method to create the Vindex, a fast planing launch, at a time when importation of big motors was restricted. Hundreds are still plying waterways here and overseas, in planked and GRP versions.

In 1967 the marvellous NZ37 Namu hit the water to shock the local racing fraternity with Flap Martinego at the helm. Hugely successful yachts that followed included Young 88 and Young 11 racers.

The first Vindex, Namu, Fiery Cross and Extreme are among the breakthrough Young designs being featured in the retrospective. The man himself will be there from 2pm today and at the same time next Saturday.