Bruce Nelson is a Naval Architect who specializes in high-performance yacht design, and who has competed as a sportsman at the upper echelons in his chosen field.
Nelson is a University of Michigan graduate in Naval Architecture. He won the 1972 Sloop National Championship at college. He has been most notable as a principal yacht designer for the America's Cup contenders and America One challenge. Nelson is a veteran America's Cup racer as well as a designer, he teamed with Dennis Conner on three Stars & Stripes boats (12-meter, catamaran, and IACC) from 1985 to 1995 as both a racer and designer. In 1995, he was the principal designer for the PACT 95 defense syndicate yacht Young America, which was ultimately chosen to be the defender.
Nelson is also an Etchells 22 sailor of some note, having won many local regattas in the San Diego fleet at the National level.
Bruce Nelson and Bruce Marek were the principals of a prolific San Diego California yacht design team, Nelson Marek, formed in 1979. Their first custom design was the incredibly successful One Ton classRUSH. Built in just 72 days, and launched 3 hours before the San Diego Yachting Cup, it lived up to its name. It was the most successful racing yacht in the U.S. in 1980 winning 21 races including the North American One Ton, Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race, and Great Lakes champion. Nelson continues to operate Nelson Marek, while Marek is an independent designer on the East Coast. Most of their designs are for custom-built yachts including world-class racers, although they have designed some production models including the Catalina 42 hull and the Merit 28.
One of the more interesting stories is the Catalina 42, the hull of which was originally designed as a limited production ocean racer. Catalina Yachts which at the time produced mostly smaller yachts 30-foot (9.1 m) and under, acquired the rights to produce the Nelson-Marek designed hull in the late 1980s. Designer Gerry Douglas modified the hull to accept a higher cabin top and cruiser-style cabin—the result was Catalina's largest sized offering for many years, with roughly 1,000 hulls on the water.
The Royal Gazette, Bermuda – June 27, 2005. Marion-Bermuda Race Trophies. Includes The Blue Water Sailing Club Board of Governors Trophy awarded to Mameluke, a Nelson Marek 49, skippered by Greg Storer from Annapolis, Maryland
Sail Magazine
Biography Bruce Nelson
Good Old Boat magazine: Volume 4, Number 1, January/February 2001
Heart of GLASS, Fiberglass Boats And The Men Who Made Them by Daniel Spurr
December 20, 2023
bruce, nelson, naval, architect, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, . This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Bruce Nelson naval architect news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bruce Nelson is a Naval Architect who specializes in high performance yacht design and who has competed as a sportsman at the upper echelons in his chosen field Contents 1 Biography 2 America s Cup participation 3 IOR designs 4 Producers of Nelson Marek Designs 5 Production models 6 ReferencesBiography editNelson is a University of Michigan graduate in Naval Architecture He won the 1972 Sloop National Championship at college He has been most notable as a principal yacht designer for the America s Cup contenders and America One challenge Nelson is a veteran America s Cup racer as well as a designer he teamed with Dennis Conner on three Stars amp Stripes boats 12 meter catamaran and IACC from 1985 to 1995 as both a racer and designer In 1995 he was the principal designer for the PACT 95 defense syndicate yacht Young America which was ultimately chosen to be the defender Nelson is also an Etchells 22 sailor of some note having won many local regattas in the San Diego fleet at the National level Bruce Nelson and Bruce Marek were the principals of a prolific San Diego California yacht design team Nelson Marek formed in 1979 Their first custom design was the incredibly successful One Ton class RUSH Built in just 72 days and launched 3 hours before the San Diego Yachting Cup it lived up to its name It was the most successful racing yacht in the U S in 1980 winning 21 races including the North American One Ton Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race and Great Lakes champion Nelson continues to operate Nelson Marek while Marek is an independent designer on the East Coast Most of their designs are for custom built yachts including world class racers although they have designed some production models including the Catalina 42 hull and the Merit 28 One of the more interesting stories is the Catalina 42 the hull of which was originally designed as a limited production ocean racer Catalina Yachts which at the time produced mostly smaller yachts 30 foot 9 1 m and under acquired the rights to produce the Nelson Marek designed hull in the late 1980s Designer Gerry Douglas modified the hull to accept a higher cabin top and cruiser style cabin the result was Catalina s largest sized offering for many years with roughly 1 000 hulls on the water America s Cup participation edit1985 1987 Stars amp Stripes 83 Stars amp Stripes 85 Stars amp Stripes 86 Stars amp Stripes 87 12 m Dennis Conner 1988 1990 Stars amp Stripes catamaran Dennis Conner 1991 1992 Stars amp Stripes IACC Dennis Conner 1993 1995 Young America PACT 95 199 2000 America One Paul CayardIOR designs editCrackerjack Electra Sleeper Reliance Ragtime Cowboy NOT an IOR design It was a MORC boat Infinity Stars amp Stripes Rowdy NOT an N M design It is a Peterson Designed Contessa 39 Lonestar RenegadeProducers of Nelson Marek Designs editCatalina Yachts Martin Yachts Vancouver BC Merit Yachts Morgan Yachts Salthouse Brothers New Zealand U S Watercraft W D Schock Carroll MarineProduction models editNelson Marek 30 1D 35 CM 1200 Nelson Marek 36 Nelson Marek 41 Nelson Marek 43 Nelson Marek 45 Nelson Marek 46 Nelson Marek 52 Ptarmigan Nelson Marek 55 BOLT nee Lone Star Catalina 42 Merit 28 Santana 30 30 Schock 34 Grand PrixReferences editThe Royal Gazette Bermuda June 27 2005 Marion Bermuda Race Trophies Includes The Blue Water Sailing Club Board of Governors Trophy awarded to Mameluke a Nelson Marek 49 skippered by Greg Storer from Annapolis Maryland Sail Magazine SAIC Site Cruising World Magazine Biography Bruce Nelson Catalina Timeline Good Old Boat magazine Volume 4 Number 1 January February 2001 Heart of GLASS Fiberglass Boats And The Men Who Made Them by Daniel Spurr Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bruce Nelson naval architect amp oldid 1169581147, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
