Douglas Blair Peterson (July 25, 1945 – June 26, 2017) was an American

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 ...

designer. Beginning with the One Tonner '' Ganbare'' in 1973, Peterson's designs have pioneered many innovations in racing and cruising yachts. In the mid-1970s, Peterson's designs dominated offshore racing events, with a string of winning high-profile

IOR The abbreviation IOR may refer to: * Importer of record, term in import and export * inclusive or - as opposed to XOR (exclusive OR) * Independent Order of Rechabites * Index of refraction * India Office Records * Indian Ocean Region * Indian Ocea ...

boats. Designed for Jack Kelly Yachts, the Peterson 44 debuted in 1976. This boat was a pioneer in performance cruising yacht design and one can still see many of the over 200 built in ports around the world. The design was followed by the Kelly Peterson 46 of which 30 were built. Hull number 30, the last one built, completed a circumnavigation of the globe in 2017. Also the Liberty 458 and the Delta 46 were based on this design. In the same period, he designed five sailboats, for the English yard Jermey Rogers, the Contessa 28, 35, 39 and 43 as well as the OOD34. Designed 'Deception' One Tonner launched in 1978 with Fractional rig and fixed keel, won her division in the 1978 Sydney to Hobart yacht race and placed eighth overall. Also designed ‘Streaker’ one tonner launched several years earlier, which also won her division and placed fourth overall in the same 1978 race. In the early 1980s

Hans Christian Yachts Hans Christian is a brand of heavilybuilt cruising sailboats. History Most designs are credited to Robert H. Perry, Harwood Ives, Scott Sprague and Tommy Chen. Boat production began in the early 1970s. In the mid 1980s Hans Christian Yachts commis ...

commissioned him to design their 48 and 52 Christina models. "I have designed the Christina 52 to have great speed with a very comfortable motion and it is designed as a pure cruising boat." Peterson later entered the

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 ...

circle as a key design member of the winning 1992 ''America'' and 1995 ''

NZL 32 ''NZL 32'', or ''Black Magic'', is an International Americas Cup Class yacht which won the 1995 America's Cup by defeating the American defender ''Young America'' in a 5–0 victory off San Diego, California. Design ''NZL 32'' was, in many wa ...

'' ''Black Magic'' Team New Zealand design teams. In 2000, Peterson designed the winning

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

boat for

Prada Challenge Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on their first attempt in 2000, but ...

. Peterson died on June 26, 2017, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, aged 71, shortly after the Kelly Peterson 46 ''Esprit'' finished her fourteen year circumnavigation.

Designs

* Chaser 29 * Islander 40 * Ganbare 35 *

Legende 1 Ton The Legende 1 Ton is a French sailboat that was designed by Doug Peterson as an International Offshore Rule One Ton class racer and first built in 1984. The design started with a class prototype, named ''Legende'' and was later developed i ...

* Seaway 25 * Sun Fast 41 * Sun Legende 41 * Triton 27 * Triton 30 * US Yachts US 27 * US Yachts US 29 * US Yachts US 30 * US Yachts US 33

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Doug Doug Peterson (yacht designer)