C. Raymond Hunt Associates (

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

Ray Hunt Design) is an American

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

design firm, based in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. The company specializes in the design of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

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 terminology ...

s and

powerboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

s. The company was founded by C. Raymond Hunt and John Deknatel in 1966. Deknatel remains the chairman, while the current president is Winn Willard. In 2023 the company had seven employees. Hunt and his firm are noted as being the only designers of that period that achieved international success in both powerboat and sailboat design.

Founder

International 110 sailboat going to weather

C. Raymond Hunt was born in 1908 and completed his formal education only as far as two years at

Phillips Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

prep school. He had no formal training in naval architecture. The Hunt family were members of the

Duxbury Yacht Club The Duxbury Yacht Club (DYC) is a private club located in Duxbury, Massachusetts that offers sailing, golf, tennis, paddle, swimming, and junior activities. It was founded in 1875 and was incorporated in 1895. The DYC is unique among yacht clubs in ...

(DYC) in

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

, Massachusetts in the 1920s. In 1923, Hunt was the captain of the DYC Junior Sailing Crew, leading it to victory in the 1923 Sears Cup in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

. This was the first sailing championship for the DYC since its establishment in 1875 and a victory over the principal yacht clubs of Massachusetts and New York. Hunt competed as captain of crews representing the DYC in the Sears Cup in 1925 and 1926, winning his second championship title in the event in 1926. Upon his successes in these competitions, Hunt was invited to tea with US President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

, who at the time was vacationing in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Hunt also won the DYC junior golf championship in 1926. Prior to founding the firm in 1966, Hunt had already established a name by designing the

Concordia yawls The Concordia yawl is a class of wooden yawl sailboats; it was designed in 1938 by the naval architect C. Raymond Hunt with input from Llewellyn and Waldo Howland, Clinton Crane, Fenwick Williams and Frank Paine. Earlier that year, the Colin Archer ...

in 1938, the

International 110 The International 110 is an American sailboat that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt as a one-design racer and first built in 1939.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 122-123. Houghton M ...

in 1939 and the 1958

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

12 Meter defender ''Easterner''. He designed a number of 5.5 Meter sailboats, including the boats that won the

1960 Summer Olympic Games The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. His captained his own 5.5 meter design, ''Chaje II'' to the 1963 5.5 Meter World Championships. He also designed the

Boston Whaler Boston Whaler is an American boat manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of the Brunswick Boat Group, a division of the Brunswick Corporation. Boston Whalers were originally produced in Massachusetts, hence the name, but today are manufactured in Edge ...

. He invented the "deep vee" powerboat hull design, which uses a high-deadrise. This proved successful in offshore racing through the 1960s. The deep vee was never patented, as a small sailing magazine had published an article describing it the year before his patent application, making the design

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. His business partner, Deknatel, said of him, "Ray was a self-effacing, quiet guy—the antithesis of any of that snooty, yachty stuff." Hunt died in 1978 at age 70.

History

The company was founded in 1966 by C. Raymond Hunt and John Deknatel with the concept of applying the "deep vee" hull concept to a wider range of boats. The firm started designing for the production and custom markets. Powerboat manufacturer that produced Hunt designs included Bertram,

, Robalo, Cruisers,

Chris-Craft Corporation Chris-Craft Corporation is an American manufacturer of recreational powerboats that is based in Sarasota, Florida. Since June 4, 2018, the company has been owned by Winnebago Industries, an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles.Galvin, T ...

, 4 Winns, Southport, Grand Banks, SeaArk, Regal and

Wellcraft Wellcraft LLC is a major manufacturer of American powerboats. It was founded in 1955, making wooden runabouts. The company slogan is, "Own the offshore". Acquisitions In 1982, Wellcraft purchased California Yachts from the Marshall Boat Company a ...

. The company has designed all the hulls used by Grady-White Boats since the 1990s. The company also designed custom yachts for Burger, Palmer Johnson, Hinckley, Lyman-Morse, Nautor and Royal Huisman. In the sailboat market the company did design work for

Cal Yachts Cal Yachts (also known as Jensen Marine and Cal Boats) was a manufacturer of performance oriented fiberglass sailboats from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Costa Mesa, California, headquartered company was founded in 1957, among the earliest of all ...

O'Day Corp O'Day Corp. was a America sailboat builder, located in Fall River, Massachusetts. History It was founded in 1958 by George O'Day, the American Olympic and World champion sailor. George O'Day sold the company to Bangor Punta Corporation in 1966. ...

Ranger Yachts Ranger Yachts was an American boat builder founded by Jack Jensen. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of sailboats for the North American market. History The company was formed by Jensen in 1970 to complement his existing ...

and

Paceship Yachts Paceship Yachts Limited was a Canada, Canadian, and later United States, American, boat builder originally based in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The company was founded in 1962 and specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. ...

. Newspaper owner Phil Weld sailed his Hunt-designed

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...

''Moxie'' to win the 1980

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (STAR) is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth in England to Newport, Rhode Island in th ...

. In the 1970s the firm entered the commercial boat market and the military market. They produced designs for several navies, coast guards and police departments as well as for fire departments. Among his naval designs was a 34-foot patrol boat for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

as well as several

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

hull designs. The company started its own boat building subsidiary in 1998. Called ''Hunt Yachts'', it built high-end powerboats in the size range. It was building about 30 to 40 boats per year in 2013. The division was sold to Hinckley Yachts in 2013.

Boats

Summary of boats designed by C. Raymond Hunt and C. Raymond Hunt Associates: * Concordia 25 - 1938 * Concordia 40 - 1938 *

- 1939 * International 210 - 1946 * Concordia 41 - 1957 * O'Day 22 - 1972 * O'Day 23-1 (Lift Top) - 1972 * Paceship PY 26 - 1972 * O'Day 22 MH - 1973 * O'Day 20 - 1973 *

Paceship PY 23 The Paceship PY 23 (or PY23) is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by John Deknatel of C. Raymond Hunt Associates and first built in 1973.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 188. Internation ...

- 1973 *

O'Day 25 The O'Day 25 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by C.R. Hunt & Associates.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 300. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. Production The boat was built b ...

- 1975 * O'Day 32 - 1975 * O'Day 32 Ketch - 1975 * O'Day 30 - 1977 * O'Day 37 - 1977 *

Ranger 30 The Ranger 30 is an American sailboat, that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and first built in 1977. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts in the United States, starting in 1977, but is now out of production. Design The R ...

- 1977 * O'Day 23-2 - 1978 *

O'Day 28 The O'Day 28 is an American sailboat, that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and first built in 1978. Production The design was built by O'Day Corp. (owned by Bangor Punta and later Lear Siegler) in the United States between 1978 an ...

- 1978 * O'Day 19 - 1979 * O'Day 34 - 1980 *

Tanzer 27 The Tanzer 27 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt and first built in 1982. The design is out of production. The Tanzer 27 is a development of the Paceship PY 26, which was produced by Paceship Yachts in Mahone Bay, Nov ...

- 1982 * Cal 24-3 - 1983 * O'Day 26 - 1983 * O'Day 222 - 1984 * O'Day 192 - 1984 * O'Day 35 - 1984 * Cal 22 - 1984 * Cal 33 - 1984 * Cal 44 - 1984 * O'Day 31 - 1985 * O'Day 272 - 1985 * Cal 28-2 - 1985 * O'Day 40 - 1986 * O'Day 322 - 1986 * Cal 39 (Hunt/O'Day) - 1988 * O'Day 240 - 1988 * O'Day 280 - 1988 * O'Day 302 - 1988 * O'Day 290 - 1989 * O'Day 250 - 1996

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.rayhuntdesign.com/ C. Raymond Hunt Associates

Founder

History

Boats

See also

References

External links