Phil Bolger

Philip C. Bolger (December 3, 1927–May 24, 2009), prolific boat designer, was born and lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He began work full time as a draftsman for boat designers Lindsay Lord and then John Hacker in early 1950s. Bolger also cites being influenced by mentors L.F. Herreshoff, Nicholas Montgomery, Howard Chapelle and his brother Bill Bolger. Bolger's first boat design was a 32' sportfisherman published in the January 1952 issue of... more

Philip C. Bolger (December 3, 1927–May 24, 2009), prolific boat designer, was born and lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He began work full time as a draftsman for boat designers Lindsay Lord and then John Hacker in early 1950s. Bolger also cites being influenced by mentors L.F. Herreshoff, Nicholas Montgomery, Howard Chapelle and his brother Bill Bolger. Bolger's first boat design was a 32' sportfisherman published in the January 1952 issue of the magazine Yachting. Since then, he has designed more than 668 different boats, making him one of the most prolific boat designers of the 20th Century, from the solidly conventional to extremely innovative, from a 114 foot 10 inch replica of an eighteenth-century naval warship, the frigate Surprise (ex-Rose), to the 6 foot 5 inch plywood box-like dinghy Tortoise. Although his designs range the full spectrum of boat types, Bolger tended to favor simplicity over complexity. Many of his hulls are made from sheet materials—typically plywood-... less