The 100 or so boats that he designed included mostly cruising/racing yachts with some power boats and several fishing boats. He remembers them all with affection and still follows their fortunes with interest - and their misfortunes with sadness.
He agrees that to the uninitiated, one boat is very much like another, even when built of the same materials. "But every boat had its own soul, even those with almost the same specifications."
His faith in wooden boats made his reunion in September 1990, with his second boat, Westward, in Northern Queensland all the more enjoyable:
"The boat is still in very good condition and it was a great thrill seeing her. I was amazed to see that the original hollow oregon 60-foot mast and the boom were still intact, on which the first waterproof Casco glue was used."
From the beginning, Jock set out to make Muir's a BOAT-building yard. He considered boats were vessels of less than 100 feet. Anything over smacked of "ship".
He has decided ideas on what attributes make a good boatbuilder and, with no conceit, he also feels he knows what makes a good boat designer:
He agrees that to the uninitiated, one boat is very much like another, even when built of the same materials. "But every boat had its own soul, even those with almost the same specifications."
His faith in wooden boats made his reunion in September 1990, with his second boat, Westward, in Northern Queensland all the more enjoyable:
"The boat is still in very good condition and it was a great thrill seeing her. I was amazed to see that the original hollow oregon 60-foot mast and the boom were still intact, on which the first waterproof Casco glue was used."
From the beginning, Jock set out to make Muir's a BOAT-building yard. He considered boats were vessels of less than 100 feet. Anything over smacked of "ship".
He has decided ideas on what attributes make a good boatbuilder and, with no conceit, he also feels he knows what makes a good boat designer:
Westward, presently berthed on the Mary River, Maryborough, Queensland" [as of 1991].
INSET: Owner, Stan Field.
INSET: Owner, Stan Field.