About Us

ABOUT US

Sponberg Yacht Design Inc. was founded in 1978, by Eric W. Sponberg, a native of Michigan with a naval architectural degree from the University of Michigan, 1971.

Eric worked for five years for Exxon Corporation in the tanker design division, spending two years in New York City and three years in England. In 1977, he and his wife Arliss sailed their 27' sailboat Duprass from England to California via the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and through the islands, down to and through the Panama Canal, and up the coast of Central America and Mexico to California.

Settling in Ventura, CA, in the summer of 1978, Eric opened his design firm, Sponberg Yachts, getting work primarily with the many do-it-yourself boatbuilders in the area. He also designed his first free-standing rig--the two aluminum masts for a 28' wood-epoxy cat-ketch called Shearwater, designed and built by Richard Black. About a year later, Cruising World magazine in Newport, RI, invited Eric back to the east coast to be their Technical Editor. While this position did not last very long, it nevertheless gave him some valuable experience in writing for the popular boating press. You can read some of Eric's later articles which have been republished here in the ARTICLES section. He continues to write frequently for the popular and professional boating magazines on boat design and construction.

In March, 1980, Eric joined Tillotson-Pearson Inc. (TPI) of Warren, RI, as a staff engineer, responsible primarily for the production engineering of fiberglass windmill blades that TPI was building for US Windpower. At that time, TPI was also building Freedom Yachts, J-Boats, and Alden Yachts. By July of that year, TPI named Eric their Chief Engineer, and at that time, Freedom Yachts were undergoing a redesign of their free-standing masts from aluminum to carbon fiber. Eric carried on that effort which culminated in the three 65'-tall carbon fiber free-standing masts for Garry Hoyt's 70' Freedom schooner Kriter Lady II, intended for the 1981 Two-handed Transatlantic Race and that year's Whitbread Round-the-World Race. At that time, and for many years afterward, Kriter Lady II's masts were the tallest and strongest free-standing masts in the world. Eric has been one of the primary advocates of free-standing rigs ever since, and his latest designs, such as for the Freedom 38 Wobegone Daze, can be seen in the FREE-STANDING MASTS section.

In November,1981, Eric returned full time to Sponberg Yachts, incorporating it as Sponberg Yacht Design Inc. (SYDI) in 1984. His first sailing yacht design commission was Corroboree, a 35' wood-epoxy sloop with a free-standing carbon fiber mast. This design was named one of the "100 Greatest Sailing Yachts in North America" by Sail magazine in January, 1993, because of its roominess, shallow draft, simple rig, thorough engineering and design, and stout construction. The plans for Corroboree are available for others to build. See this design in the STOCK PLANS section under BOAT DESIGNS. Also available under Stock Plans is the latest sailing yacht design from SYDI, Bagatelle, an extremely lightweight wood-epoxy 44' cruising/racing sloop with carbon fiber lifting keel, rudder, and B&R rig. For do-it-yourselfers who don't want such a large boat, look at the Delft 25 sloop--plywood-epoxy construction with a carbon fiber and wood-epoxy wingmast. Finally, look at Halfling, a very simple and versatile 8' sailing pram which can be easily stowed in halves (hence the name) on a larger boat.

Probably the most prominent sailing yacht design from SYDI is the open class 60 racing sailboat Project Amazon. An aluminum cat-ketch, it was commissioned and owned by Sebastian Reidl, a Hungarian native living in Ecuador. Together they started in the 1998 Around Alone single-handed race around the world. Unfortunately, Reidl had to retire during the first leg for lack of funds and some badly contaminated fuel. You can read the latest news about that boat, and our other new sailboat designs like the Scandinavian Cruisers, and the Globetrotters 66 and 45 in the BOAT DESIGNS section, under SAILBOAT DESIGNS.

In the last few years, most of SYDI's design work has been on the power and motoryacht side for Moloka’i Strait Marine of Annapolis, MD. This relationship has culminated in the design of the expedition motoryachts in the MOLOKA’I STRAIT design series. These may be reviewed in the BOAT DESIGNS section, under POWERBOAT DESIGNS. Just posted is the new Moloka’i Strait 79. Another specialty we have is the design of classic-styled speedboats such as the Cherubini Classic 20 and 24, and the Saetta kit speedboat. We also help people with redesigning boats for classic-styled reproduction but with modern bottom design for optimum performance, such as the Chris Craft Cobra. Again, all are in the Powerboat Designs section.

Eric is a life member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers as well as a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Connecticut. He is also a corporate member and licensed Chartered Engineer of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects in the United Kingdom. Eric is also a licensed private pilot.

Sponberg Yacht Design welcomes inquiries on new boat and yacht designs of all types, sail and power, recreational or commercial. Please contact us by e-mail, phone, letter, or fax to discuss your new boat project.

Sponberg Yacht Design Inc.
50 Ocean Ct.
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Tel/Fax: (904) 460-9494
Mobile: (904) 806-1824
e-mail: ewsponberg@sponbergyachtdesign.com