Geerd Niels Hendel (14 January 1903 – 30 March 1998) was a naval architect and native of Germany. He found success in the United States becoming a prominent yacht designer who had a hand in an

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 ...

victory in 1937.

Life and career

Born in Hamburg, Hendel apprenticed for two years at

Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' ( AEG) and ' ...

shipyard in Hamburg before attending the Higher Technical Institute at Bremen where he specialized in naval architecture. Following graduation in 1925, he spent over two years in the design office of

Nobiskrug Nobiskrug is a shipyard located on the Eider River in Rendsburg, Germany, specialized in building innovative, custom-made luxury superyachts. In 2020 it celebrated its 115 years of operation. History Nobiskrug was founded in 1905 by Ott ...

shipyard in

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

in Northern Germany. Hendel came to the US in November 1928 with a visa and worked in New York City in the office of Theodore Wells, naval architect. In 1935, Hendel became chief draftsman for the legendary naval architect

Starling Burgess William Starling Burgess (December 25, 1878 – March 19, 1947) was an American yacht designer, aviation pioneer, and naval architect. He was awarded the highest prize in aviation, the Collier Trophy in 1915, just two years after Orville Wright ...

, who at the time was living in Wiscasset, Maine, and working on various projects for the Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine. In 1936, Harold Stirling Vanderbilt engaged the Bath Iron Works to build the America's Cup Defender '' Ranger'', the greatest of all J-class yachts. Geerd Hendel worked with

and a young Olin Stephens on putting together the working drawings (see Olin Stephens's book, ''All This and Sailing Too''). From his work on ''Ranger’s'' aluminum masts, Hendel became one of the early advocates of the use of aluminum in yacht building. That summer, Hendel became a US citizen. In 1938, Hendel designed the 21-foot fin keel sloop known as the Boothbay Harbor One Design, the culmination of almost a decade's work of designing, building, and then testing his ideas for fast racing sloops. Geerd Hendel and

actively raced the Hendel Racing Sloop during the years leading up to World War II.Bray, Maynard "The Boothbay Harbor One Design." ''WoodenBoat Magazine's Small Boats'', February, 2007 pp. 72-75. In 1939, Hendel designed ''Whistler'', one of the first aluminum alloy vessels ever built in the United States. It was an experimental yacht for

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

, built at Rice Brothers in East Boothbay, Maine. The following year he worked for

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milita ...

for a short time. Post World War II, Hendel established his own independent design firm in 1945 in Camden, Maine. He gained fame as a naval architect both in the United States and Europe for his many innovative designs of luxury yachts, fishing vessels, tugboats, launches, and sailboats. He spent well over 60 years behind the drawing board and the last 30 managing his own firm. His accomplishments were documented over the years in numerous trade magazines and books on boat building. Most of Hendel's drawings and work are located in the Hendel Collection at the

Maine Maritime Museum Maine Maritime Museum, formerly the Bath Marine Museum, offers some exhibits about Maine's maritime heritage, culture and the role Maine has played in regional and global maritime activities. Maine Maritime Museum has a large and diverse collecti ...

, 243 Washington St., Bath, ME 04530 USA.

References

External links

J-class yacht history

Replica Ranger website

Website: Sparkman & Stephens Inc. (S&S)

Bath Iron Works

Maine Maritime Museum

Boothbay Harbor One Design
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendel, Geerd American yacht designers America's Cup yacht designers German naval architects Architects from Hamburg 1903 births 1998 deaths People from Camden, Maine Emigrants from the Weimar Republic to the United States

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links