|
Arvid Laurin, Yacht Designer |
|
Arvid Laurin was born October 3, 1901 in Lysekil in Sweden. His father was the owner of a company that produced heavy combustion engines. Arvid Laurin graduated as a civil engineer at Chalmers in Gothenburg with the highest grades. Shortly after graduating he started to use his new learned skill designing engines in his fathers business.
Arvid Laurin was interested in most vehicles in one way or the other, he owned several cars that he modified, he learned how to fly, through the Swedish Marine, and he studied aerodynamics. Arvid Laurin was also a very good inventor and help design improvements to sound recording equipment. Later Arvid Laurin worked as the chief designer for Bolinder-Munktell’s huge diesel engines.
Arvid Laurin took up sailing at the age of 13 and soon got his first own sailboat. Already at this age he showed a talent for yacht design, he made changes to how the sails where cut and other improvements to the design, thus to increase its speed.
Arvid Laurin soon designed his first boat, it was to become a fishing boat. Soon thereafter he was asked to design a “lottery-boat” for a yacht club. The design was to be a koster type of boat, and it turned out to be so much faster then other Koster boats that soon orders started coming in for more kosters to be designed.
In 1930 Arvid Laurin started racing STAR-BOATS and represented Sweden in the 1936 Olympics. He brought home silver with him to Sweden.
Shortly there after Arvid Laurin started sailing International 5 Meter Rule yachts. He believed he could design a much faster boat and designed the yacht that was to be named Gullmar III. In the general public the boat was called “The Box”. After this several other Int5mR designs where to follow. Arvid Laurin’s success as a designer became so grand that other sailors started to complain “Arvid Laurin has ruined the class, to win you have to sail an Arvid Laurin design”! His design won gold in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 and four years later in Melbourne.
He began to design in the International 6 Metre Rule class and the one he built for himself called "Trickson VI" won him the Gold Cup Regatta in Sandhamn. Next came his interest in the new 5.5 metre class and the success of his yachts drew orders from all over the world. Many of these won World Championships and Olympic medals.
Arvid Laurin also kept on designing Koster type of boats and he designed several very popular once. Some of them where even made to be produced in GRP in mass production very successfully.
Arvid Laurin was called by many, "The Swedish Genius", his wide ranging enquiring mind encompassing many fields remained active up until the end. His contribution to yachting, especially in Sweden, was a force to be reckoned with as witnessed by his enormous output of brilliant designs... |
Yacht Designers 