Bill Tritt (August 29, 1917 - March 25, 2011) was an American yacht builder. He began working in Glass-reinforced plastic in 1948. He founded Glasspar Corporation in 1949 due to his keen interest in boats and cars and his belief in fiberglass as a material. Before the World War II, he studied

marine architecture Marine architecture is the design of architectural and engineering structures which support coastal design, near-shore and off-shore or deep-water planning for many projects such as shipyards, ship transport, coastal management or other marine and/o ...

and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

building. He worked for

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

's Production Planning and Illustration Departments during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and by 1945 had built a number of catamaran

sailboats A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

. In 1947, John Green, a

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

sman friend, paid Tritt to design and build a racing

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

in the twenty foot range. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) seemed the logical construction material, and Otto Bayer of Wizard Boats was enlisted as laminator. The boat was named the Green Dolphin, and four were built. This was Tritt's introduction to FRP.

Boats

By 1947 he was building small fiberglass boats, and built the first ever fiberglass masts and spars for sailboats. This company became the

Glasspar The Glasspar boat-building company was started in 1947 when Bill Tritt began building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California fiberglass shop. Origins Bill Tritt had a keen interest in boats and Automobile, cars before World War I ...

Company and moved to larger quarters in Santa Ana, California, in the early 1950s. By the mid-1950s, Glasspar was producing fifteen to twenty percent of all fiberglass boats sold in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. About this time Tritt incorporated and offered stock to generate working capital.

Cars

Tritt also designed and built car bodies (one of the first to do so in fiberglass) as well as speedboat and runabout hulls. Tritt is credited with designing and building the first production fiberglass car called the G2. During this period he also designed and or built bodies for Blanchard Robert "Woody" Woodill, Strassberger Motor Company, British Singer Car Company,

Willys Willys (pronounced , "Willis" ) was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs ...

, Kaiser (when Kaiser bought out Willys), Volvo, and Walt Disney. He may also have had a hand in helping GM determine the best way to fabricate fiberglass bodies for its new line of cars the Corvette. With the successes of these car bodies Tritt decided to design and build a complete sports car called the Ascot, but the Glasspar board of directors voted this down in favor of concentrating on core business of boat building. Recently one of Bill Tritt's G2 cars was enshrined in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

as the first production fiberglass car.Smithsonian Reference

References

External links

Hemmings Motor News ''Hemmings Motor News'' (HMN) is a monthly magazine catering to traders and collectors of antique, classic, and exotic sports cars. It is the largest and oldest publication of its type in the United States, with sales of 215,000 copies per mont ...

Glasspar
at Coachbuilt.com

at LaDawri.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tritt, Bill American chief executives American yacht designers 1917 births 2011 deaths