Ian Proctor

Ian Proctor FRS (1918-1992) was a prolific designer of both sailing dinghies and cruisers. His pioneering aluminium mast designs also revolutionised the sport of sailing.

Proctor had more than one hundred designs to his credit,cite web |url=http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070910094700ymnews.html |title=Ian Proctor remembered |publisher=Yachting Monthly |accessdate=2007-10-25 |quote=Ian Proctor's innovative designs and ideas modernised the whole concept of small boat sailing, making a vital contribution to the popularisation of the sport. He designed over 100 different boats and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Royal Designer for Industry. |month=October |year=2007] from which 65,000 boats were built.Fact|date=October 2007 Some of his designs are listed below.

Education

Proctor was educated at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk."I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School" by S.G.G. Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) p. 39] ["The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555-1954" (Ipswich, 1955)]

Career

Dinghy designer

Ian Proctor first began to design dinghies professionally in 1950. The National 12 was soon followed soon by the Merlin Rocket. Proctor's early designs were met with immediate success, winning championships from 1950 to 1952. His design of Proctor Spars revolutionised dinghy sailing. Then in 1958 he penned the evergreen Wayfarer, which soon became a hit with sailing schools and still has a solid following in racing and cruising circles. Indeed, a Wayfarer was sailed from the UK to Norway and Iceland by Frank Dye, and this boat is now on display at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. [Dye, Frank: "Ocean-crossing Wayfarer" (David and Charles, London, 1977) ISBN 0-7153-7371-4]

The most widely-known of all Ian Proctor designs has to be the Topper of which more than 46,000 have been produced to date. This was the first sailing dinghy to be produced from injection moulded plastic, system which cost a million pounds to set up and was the largest single mold at the time. The first boats however were built from glassfibre (GRP). There is a large topper racing circuit in the UK and also like the Wanderer has an enthusiastic racing following.

Yacht designer

Although better known for his dinghy designs and metal masts, Ian Proctor was also responsible for the design of several small cruisers. His first cruiser was the Seagull for Bell Woodworking, followed shortly afterwards by the Seamew. Later on there was the Nimrod, Eclipse, Pirate, and the Prelude.

Mast designer

In 1953 Ian Proctors 'Cirrus' had an all metal mast. Proctor quickly realised the potential of metal masts and in 1953 he designed the first all-metal tapered and extruded mast for sailing dinghies. Then in 1955 he established 'Ian Proctor Metal Masts Limited' as a commercial venture. Proctor Masts soon became the leading metal mast producers for all types of sailing craft. Indeed by 1960, 13 different countries were using Proctor masts in the Olympics and the 1987 America's Cup featured 12 boats using Proctor masts.

Ian Proctor Designs

* Adventuress
* Bosun
* Gull
* Merlin Rocket
* National 12
* Nimrod, commissioned by Westerly
* Pirate, commissioned by Rydgeway Marine
* Prelude, commissioned by Rydgeway Marine
* Seagull, commissioned by Bell Woodworking
* Seamew, commissioned by Bell Woodworking
* SigneT [cite web |url=http://homepages.rya-online.net/signet/ |title=SigneTs |publisher=Ben Mitchell |accessdate=2007-10-24]
* Tempest
* Topper
* Wanderer
* Wayfarer
* Kestrel, the first dinghy to be designed to be built in glass fibre. [ [http://www.hartleylaminates.co.uk/boats/osprey/osprey_racer.html Osprey Racer] at hartleylaminates.co.uk (accessed 23 November 2007)] [ [http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/classes/?s=48 Sailing & Yachting Classes] at yachtsandyachting.com (accessed 23 November 2007)]

Honours

* Royal Designer for Industry
* Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

References