Myron Spaulding (October 28, 1905 – September 11, 2000) was an American

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

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 and builder and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist in

Sausalito, California Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...

Life

Myron Spaulding was well known on the Sausalito waterfront in the mid and late 1900s, and exerted a strong influence on

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

sailors during the days when boats were made of wood and built locally by expert craftsmen. An accomplished concert violinist, Myron Spaulding performed professionally for many years, including with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

. It was, however, as a

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 ...

designer, builder and sailor, that Spaulding left his mark on the Bay Area. Spaulding moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

as a boy in 1915. He received his credential in naval architecture and boatbuilding from the Polytechnic High School in San Francisco in 1923, and designed and built his first small boat while in school. It was there that he earned an additional degree in music, playing the violin. Following graduation, Spaulding played violin in the Fox Theatre's vaudeville orchestra, for silent movie houses, for the ballet, and eventually earned a seat with the San Francisco Symphony and performed with them until 1957. At the same time, he was racing and winning several class championships in the Bird class, Stars and 6-Meters. He also participated in six TransPacific races from San Francisco to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. The highlight of his racing career was winning the 1936 TransPac as skipper of the famous Sparkman & Stephens-designed

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

'' Dorade''. Spaulding opened a naval architecture office in San Francisco before World War II. His first significant design was the Clipper. In addition to the Clipper class, he created the Spaulding 33, which can still be seen on San Francisco Bay, as well as notable custom boats, including the yawl ''Suomi'' and the yawl ''Chrysopyle''. During World War II, he worked at the Madden and Lewis Company shipyard in Sausalito building tow boats and

subchasers A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

, then spent a couple of years as a

marine surveyor A Marine Surveyor (including "yacht & small craft surveyor", "hull & machinery surveyor" and/or "cargo surveyor") is a person who conducts inspections, surveys or examinations of marine vessels to assess, monitor and report on their condition and t ...

before leasing property near McNear's Beach in the late 1940s, where he repaired boats, continued with survey work and designed and built the ''Buoyant Girl''. After losing his lease to make way for development, he returned to Sausalito in 1951 and bought the present waterfront site of Spaulding Boatworks at the foot of Gate Five Road. Myron Spaulding died in the fall of 2000 at the age of 94. Myron Spaulding's widow, Gladys, died a little more than a year and a half later and left the Spaulding Boatworks in charitable trust, with instructions for the trustees to form a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

corporation, named the

Spaulding Wooden Boat Center The Spaulding Marine Center, (formally the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center), in Sausalito, California, is a living museum where one can go back in time to experience the days when craftsmen and sailors used traditional skills to build, sail or row ...

(SWBC). Today, the SWBC is a working and living museum, with the mission to restore and return to active use significant, historic wooden sailing vessels; preserve and enhance its working boatyard; create a place where people can gather to use, enjoy, and learn about wooden boats; and educate others about wooden boat building skills, traditions and values.Spaulding Wooden Boat Center
Spaulding Center Web site
/ref> Myron Spaulding's design collection is at the

San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park used to be r ...

Boats designed

*''Nautigal''. Custom sloop. Built in 1938. *''Suomi''. Custom yawl. Built in 1947. *''Lark III''. Custom sloop. *''Buoyant Girl''. Custom . Built in 1949. Model of boat is in Commodore's Room at San Francisco Yacht Club in

Belvedere, California Belvedere is a residential incorporated city located on the San Francisco Bay in Marin County, California, United States. Consisting of two islands and a lagoon, it is connected to the Tiburon Peninsula by two causeways. At the 2020 census, the ...

. *Clipper class sloops (63 built) *Spaulding 33 (9 built, possibly more) *''Chrysopyle'' Custom yawl. Built in 1961.Knight, Lucia del Sol & MacNaughton, Daniel Bruce. ''Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers''. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. *Spaulding 28 (One boat built. Started in 1958 and completed in 2006)

Sailboat races

*1936

Transpacific Yacht Race The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around . In even-numbered years the P ...

as master and navigator of yawl '' Dorade''. First, first in class and first overall. (D:H:M:S: Elapsed: 13:07:20:04; Corrected: 11:03:29:44) *Five additional Transpacs as sailing master and/or navigator. *1939 Successfully defended San Francisco Perpetual Trophy. 6-meter ''Saga'' of St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco defeated 6-meter ''Rebel'' of Los Angeles Yacht Club. *1946 Successfully defended San Francisco Perpetual Trophy. 8-meter ''Hussy'' of Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon defeated the sloop ''Amorita'' of Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Reputation & legacy

Photos

Image:SWBCmyrononsparloft215.jpg, Myron Spaulding in the spar loft at the Spaulding Boatworks (1995) Image:SWBCchrysopyle215.jpg, The Spaulding designed and built Chrysopyle on the Spaulding Boatworks dock Image:SWBCspaulding33-275.jpg, A Spaulding 33 on the derrick at the Spaulding Boatworks Image:spaulding_suomi.jpg, Suomi, 50 foot yawl designed by Myron Spaulding Image:spaulding_buoyantgirl.jpg, Buoyant Girl, custom 37 foot sloop designed by Myron Spaulding Image:SWBCmyron1969onmanukea215.jpg, Myron Spaulding on San Francisco Bay Image:spauldingbw.jpg, The Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito (2007) Image:myronondorade1936.jpg, Myron Spaulding taking a sight aboard '' Dorade'' en route from San Francisco to Honolulu in Transpacific race (1936) Image:myronsfsymphony1937.jpg, Myron Spaulding (circled) in first violin section of San Francisco Symphony (1937) Image:myronodysseyviolin.jpg, Myron Spaulding playing violin aboard ''Odyssey''

References

External links

Spaulding Wooden Boat CenterSan Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, Myron 1905 births 2000 deaths American boat builders American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists American male sailors (sport) People from Sausalito, California People from Eureka, California American yacht designers 20th-century American architects 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists