About Us

Design Highlights | Career Highlights | Current Projects

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pictured: America's Cup Winner Courageous for which Taylor was a member of the design team.
Principal:

     Jim Taylor has been sailing since childhood. Born in 1949, he was soon "messing about in boats" on the Delaware River, and on a Rhode Island salt pond. He earned a B.A. from Haverford College, (Haverford, PA), and a graduate 'degree' from the 'Ted Hood School of Yachting Technology,' where he worked for five years on a variety of ocean racing, America's Cup 12-meter, and production cruising designs. He is married to Anne, has a college age son, and has been a professional yacht designer for over 30 years

History:

     Jim Taylor Yacht Designs was formed in November of 1978. It is located in historic Marblehead, Massachusetts at the foot of State Street, overlooking the scenic harbor that once laid claim to be the 'yachting capitol of the world.'

Highlights:

     The firm's first project was Blackjack, a lightweight 23-foot daggerboarder that was drawn, built, and very successfully campaigned by the designer, winning 12 of 16 races sailed. Its first outside design commission was from Peter Rosenberg for Sabra, a 34-foot IOR racer/cruiser that is still going strong to this day. A string of successful IOR racers and production cruisers followed in the 1980's. Taylor began to concentrate on the IMS rule in the late 1980's, and the Taylor 40 pioneered 'grand prix' IMS racing with a flood of wins, including two Corinthian 200's, the Manhasset Bay Fall series, the Corum Cup (Japan), Chicago 'Boat of the Year', and the Marblehead-Halifax Race (1st & 2nd).

     Through the years, Taylor designs have won 11 of 12 Mass Bay Season championships, four straight Block Island class wins, two NYYC Herreshoff Trophies, and six straight PHRF N.E. championships, (9 in 11 years). They have earned class wins in six Block Island Race Weeks in 9 years, two Key West Race Weeks, the SORC, the Commodore's Cup, the Chicago-Mackinac, the Bermuda Race, and an Onion Patch overall team trophy.

     Taylor joined Bill Koch's America^3 design team in 1990. The team's breakthrough USA 23 design convincingly beat Italy's Il Moro 4-1 to win the 1992 America's Cup. Taylor returned with the core of that team for the 1995 Cup. Hampered by a lack of development time, Koch's Women's Team narrowly missed winning the defender series in the team's Mighty Mary.

Taylor designs have won recognition off the race course as well:

Career Highlights:

CURRENT PROJECTS: