Lock Crowther
Australian multihull sailboat designer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lock Crowther (9 September 1940[1]–1993; first name by birth Lachlan[2]) was an Australian multihull sailboat designer. He grew up in Bairnsdale in the East Gippsland region of Victoria.[2] Though his first name was Lachlan by birth, he insisted on being called Lock or Lockie.[2]
Lock Crowther | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 September 1940 |
| Occupation | Ship Designer |
| Children | Brett Crowther |
Career
Lock and his family[2] built his first boat, a trimaran called Bunyip, in 1959 while he was still a teenager. In 1960 he raced in the Easter regatta at Paynesville, Victoria, Australia, and won against a field of 300 boats. This initial success inspired others to build similar boats. Crowther then studied electrical engineering in Melbourne[2] and in the early 1960s became involved in multihull design and the Amateur Yacht Research Society.[3] In 1962 Trio was built based upon his designs.[2][4]
Crowther's next design was the Kraken 25, garnering some recognition.[3] Later, Lockie decided to give up his day job in Melbourne and move to Sydney to design multihulls full-time.[2]
In 1969, a Kraken 40 won the New York to Bermuda race with him aboard.[3] Crowther's first offshore racing trimaran, Bandersnatch, won the Sydney to Hobart multihull race in 1996.[3]
Legacy
During Crowther's career, over 2500 of his designs were built.[3] 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.[3] Based in northern Sydney, it merged with Incat Designs - Sydney in 2005[5] to form Incat Crowther.[6] Some Crowther designs are now offered[7] through Melbourne-based Bloomfield Innovation, run by a former associate.