Alfred Edward "Bill" Luders, Jr. (December 31, 1909 – January 31, 1999) was an
American naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners.
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, who designed all but one of the
Sea Sprite Sailing Yachts.
Born in
Stamford, Connecticut, Luders attended
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
in
Pottstown, Pennsylvania, then forwent further education to undertake an apprenticeship in naval architecture. Luders later became the director of the family business, Luders Marine Construction Company in Stamford, which was founded by his father, A.E. Luders, Sr., in 1908.
[Bill Luders Has Them Crying: Beat The Bird!](_blank)
''Sports Illustrated'', July 27, 1964.
In 1946, Luders was one of a committee of five boat designers (including George Hinman, Arthur Knapp, Emil "Bus" Mosbacher and Cornelius Shields) who codified and regulated the
International One Design
The International One Design (IOD, International) is a class of sail boat developed in 1936 for yacht racing. It is a 33-foot open-cockpit day sailer used for day racing, rather than for overnight or ocean races. Popularised prior to the Second ...
class of yachts.
[Wallace, William N.]
Alfred E. (Bill) Luders Jr., 89; Designed and Raced Sailboats
''The New York Times'', February 3, 1999.
With the revival of the
America's Cup yacht race with 12-meter yachts in 1958, Luders built the yacht ''
Weatherly'' to a design by
Philip Rhodes
Philip Leonard Rhodes (1895–1974) was an American naval architect known for his diverse yacht designs.
Life
Rhodes designed a wide variety of vessels from 7' dinghies to 123' motor-sailors, from hydrofoil racers to America's Cup winners - h ...
. Although the yacht was not selected that year, it successfully defended the Cup at the
1962 America's Cup against the Australian yacht ''
Gretel''.
Designs
*
Sea Sprite 27
The Sea Sprite 27, also called the Sea Sprite 28 and the Luders 28, is an American sailboat that was designed by Bill Luders as a cruiser and first built in 1960.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Editi ...
*
Sea Sprite 34
References
1909 births
1999 deaths
Engineers from Connecticut
American yacht designers
The Hill School alumni
{{Design-bio-stub