Practical Boat Owner - February 2016

Designs of

Ed Dubois

From Westerlys to superyachts with

plenty in between, the career of designer

Ed Dubois has been spectacular,

says Peter K Poland

Westerly Fulmar: available

second-hand from £19,

I

first met Ed Dubois in

Southend-on-Sea in 1974.

We were both relative

nippers and setting forth

on new careers – Ed as

a boat designer and me as

a boatbuilder.

He was filling in time working for

Yachts and Yachting as a journalist

while waiting for a work permit to

come through from the USA prior

to taking up a job offer at the

illustrious Sparkman & Stephens

design office. From the word go,

Ed aimed for the top.

At that time, I was planning a new

Hunter model. One option was to

go for a brand-new David Thomas

design. The other (cheaper) route

was to plonk a classier deck onto

our existing Hunter 701 hull to give

it more modern looks and extra

space down below.

‘I’d like to have a go at that,’ said

Ed over a pint (or two) of Essex ale

and soon presented an attractive

701 ‘Mark 2’ drawing.

I showed both options to Peter

Hornbrook, an existing Hunter

owner with a yen for a new boat,

asking: ‘Which one do you want?’

He scratched his head then

pointed to the Thomas design,

saying: ‘This one looks interesting.

Besides which, I already have

a 701.’

So he ordered Sonata No

‘off plan’ and offered to become

the founding secretary of the

Hunter Sonata One Design

class. Thus the die was cast. If

Peter had gone for the revamped

701, later Hunters might have

been Dubois designs!

Early ambitions

Dubois (born in 1952) had his first

sailing adventure on a boating lake

in Regent’s Park. Later he acquired

a knackered Hornet dinghy that

he restored and raced from

Thorpe Bay. Even as a teenager

he knew that his heart was

already set on sailing and

becoming a boat designer.

So he applied for the new

boat and yacht design course

at the then Southampton College

of Technology (now Southampton

Solent University), winning a

place in 1971.

Each academic year comprised

three terms, the third of which (in

the summer) had to be spent

working in the marine industry.

‘No one gave you a job. You

Boats

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter K Poland crossed the Atlantic in a 7.6m

(25ft) Wind Elf in 1968 and later spent 30

years as co-owner of Hunter Boats. He is

now a freelance journalist.

Sailing Scenes

The man himself, Ed Dubois