Iain Oughtred 1939-2024
When the end came, it came peacefully. Iain Oughtred, probably the most influential small-boat designer of his generation, died in hospital on the Isle of Skye on 21 February. Over a career spanning more than 50 years, he drew around 120 designs for traditionally-styled boats mostly intended for amateur construction, ranging from 8ft to 60ft long. His designs and the detailed drawings he drew for them – always by hand – earned him a towering name in his field, although financial success always eluded him.
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1939, Iain was brought up in Sydney from the age of 10. He learned to sail on Gwen 12s at Mosman Sailing Club on Sydney Harbour and had considerable success both racing and building the boats. He published his first design, an 18ft pocket cruiser called Happy Jack, in 1967, followed by a 29ft (8.8m) cruising yacht a few years later. But it was while visiting Europe in the 1970s – and in particular seeing the double-ended working boats of Norway – that he resolved to become a boat
