Richard Cooper Newick

Richard Cooper Newick (May 9, 1926, Hackensack, New Jersey  August 28, 2013, Sebastopol, California; age 87)[1][2][3] more frequently known as Dick Newick was a multihull sailboat designer.

Life

He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey.[2] At 10 he built two kayaks with his father and brother.[2] At 12 he designed and built two more by himself.[2] At 14 he sold kayak plans to a schoolmate for $5.[2] After school he spent some time in the United States Navy and earned a degree from the University of California, Berkeley.[2] He ran a boat shop, worked charitably with Quakers in Mexico, then explored Europe by kayak.[2] He sailed to St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands where he met and married his wife Patricia Ann Moe.[2] They lived in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts and Kittery Point, Maine and had two daughters, Lark Blair and Val Wright, both of whom have boat designs named after them.[2]

Philosophy

Newick believed in reincarnation and said he had been a Polynesian boat builder in a previous life.[2] He lauded simplicity of design,[2] safe seagoing performance,[1] aesthetics,[1] and speed under sail.[2][4]

Legacy

Newick was at the forefront of the 1960s revival of multihulls, helping to reform their aesthetic and influencing later designs such as the AC72.[2] He was inducted into the North American Boat Designers Hall of Fame in 2008.[2]

Designs

Newick completed around 140 boat designs during his career,[2] including the following.

See also

References


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