David Boyd The Fairlie Years

Known for designing British 12-Metres for the America's Cup, David Boyd also made a significant contribution to the legend of William Fife III

- Euan Ross

Through the 1950s and 1960s, David Boyd was as famous as any naval architect might become in Britain. Boyd’s racing yachts had won some of the most prestigious competitions of his era. His 6-Metres won the Seawanhaka Cup three times, the equally high-profile One Ton Cup, more than half-a-dozen Solent Silver Medals and top-scoring individual yacht honours in the British America’s Cup. Boyd could also claim the season’s champion in 5.5-Metres and Windermere 17s. These winners are, of course, in addition to David Boyd’s best-known work from the post-war era – the three sublime, yet polemic, 12-Metre yachts designed for the America’s Cup.

Even so, as a professional yacht designer attached to a successful boatyard, there is a common misperception that success eluded David Boyd. While his 50-odd designs comprise a portfolio of uniformly high quality, by 1965 the capricious nature of the fourth estate had left Boyd’s hard-won reputation in tatters. Through two America’s Cup campaigns, unrealistic expectations and negative press also raised doubt in the minds of potential clients during Boyd’s intellectual peak and constrained the magnitude of his life’s work.

The first matter to address is David Boyd’s largely unrecognised contribution to the famous industry of William Fife III. For a variety of reasons, Fife’s boats were particularly well regarded during Boyd’s tenure in the Fairlie drawing office. Perhaps coincidentally, demand dropped off significantly after Boyd crossed the Clyde to join Alexander Robertson. More certainly, Boyd evolved his characteristic style and matured as a designer while working with Fife during an era when classic yachts of enduring beauty were conceived.