Referred to as one of Britain’s most influential yacht designers, David Thomas designed some of the best known British boats during his career spanning half a century. His passing this week at the age of 82 has prompted a wave of tributes.
Born in Southampton just before the Second World War, Thomas was a keen sailor right from the very start and managed to stay involved in the sport even when sailing was banned during the war effort. It was clear that David was born for the water and started fixing and rebuilding boats of their own, with an understanding of how to make each one more efficient.
Thomas had roles in companies such as Yachting World and Ratsey & Lapthorn which helped him to hone is skills as a master designer. He was responsible for notorious classic designs such as the Impala, Elizabethan, Sonata, Hunter 707 and the Sigma range. The 105 Sigma 33s fleet is also the largest one-design fleet in Round the Island Race history. His brilliant designs will live on, all of which you can view below.
Elizabethan 31 Ketch - 1968
Elizabethan 33 - 1973
Intro 22 - 1975
Hummingbird 30 - 1978
Bolero 25.5 - 1979
Medina 20 -1979
Bolero 35.5 - 1980
Sigma 36 (Thomas) -1981
Sigma 41 - 1982
Liberty 22 - 1982
Minstrel 23 - 1987
Hunter Horizon 273 - 1988
Sigma 38 OOD - 1988
Red Fox 200T - 1990
Hunter Horizon 21 - 1992
Hunter Horizon 30 - 1993
707 (Hunter) - 1995
Link 30 - 2003
Mystery 30 - 2010
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Image Credits: Sailboatdata.com & Sailingtoday.co.uk
