Sail Far Live Free

This is the second entry in a series of my mini-interviews with prominent sailboat designers. My guest this time is Bill Dixon. Bill leads Dixon Yacht Design and has done so ever since he took over Angus Primrose Design more than 27 years ago. To cruising sailors, perhaps Bill's best known designs include sailboats from Moody Yachts  since 1981. Of particular note are the unique and innovative Moody deck saloons. As Moody Yachts puts it, "Bill Dixon is more than a designer. Each one of his developments is filled with life." Dixon Yacht Design has also been involved with the Passport Vista 615 , Passport 58TC , the Discovery 50 catamaran , the Tayana 54 and many others including  several superyacht sailboats  and powerboats. A very big THANK YOU to Bill for participating! And now on to my questions and Bill's responses: 1) Sum up your sailboat design philosophy in a few sentences. I enjoy designing sailing yachts, based on the lifestyles of owners...

Build me straight, O worthy Master! Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, That shall laugh at all disaster, And with wave and whirlwind wrestle! - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from "The Building of the Ship" (1849) I've been on a mental journey through the world of bluewater sailboats over the past couple of years. These staunch and sturdy sailing vessels seem to be an integral part of my longing to explore the watery part of the world and see islands, cultures and lands in far off places. So far I've examined my top ten favorite bluewater sailboats , written about some of the pocket cruisers and bluewater budget sailboats I'm familiar with and learned a ton by having some of my favorite designers such as Bob Perry and Ted Brewer share their perspectives in guest posts. Today I'm going to further my journey by attempting to make a generalization about bluewater sailboats. As with so many other things in life, choosing a particular sailbo...