Design work to now has included design of a wide variety of craft from small motorboats, kayaks and dinghies, through to superyachts in excess of 40m in length. The majority of work has been related to performance sailboats including some 25 yachts in excess of 15metres. Brett has been the recipient of a number of design awards, and has maintained a strong industry involvement through leadership within the profession.
I have always been good at drawing and my family’s interest in yachting meant that I inevitably drew yachts, although a career in Yacht Design was not really planned. There is no course or qualification in marine design of any substance in New Zealand and so I choose a degree in Architecture as my career pathway. During this time I was active in sailing and decided to try out for New Zealand’s first attempt to win the Americas Cup that was being planned at the time that I completed my degree. I got a job with an architect while trying out for the squad, training in the gym and sailing as much as possible. A serious training injury brought it all to an end, but it also opened a new pathway for a career in Yacht Design. My job with the architect came to an end when he moved to Europe and the Challenge needed some draughting power in the design office so I started work drawing components for Americas Cup twelve metres.
During this time I was working with New Zealands most famous yacht design trio: Laurie Davidson, Bruce Farr, and Ron Holland. Laurie offered me a job, and over the following nine years I served an apprenticeship with a master designer, a truly clever and intuitive designer. I was exposed to the industry and my position with a leading designer meant that when I eventually went out on my own I was taken seriously and received huge support from the New Zealand marine industry.
I believe that my training as an architect has given me an edge when it comes to assessing a clients requirements and establishing the core requirements of the design concept. For me design is, first and foremost, about communication - understanding the clients desires and requirements, finding the most appropriate solution and then communicating that back to the client before then explaining that solution to the people who have to take the idea and produce the resulting design.
A sailboat is a wondrous thing. It has a life and a personality that can be sensed visually and by feel when you step aboard, and it can be heard as she moves through the water. Each is different from the next, and you can never tire of them – I believe that is why they are referred to as ‘she’.
