Robert Perry

The Tayana 37 is one of Perry's most famous and iconic designs. A Tayana 37 under sail on the East River in New York passes under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Robert H. Perry is a U.S. yacht designer based in Seattle, Washington. Among his designs are some of the most successful cruising yachts in modern cruising such as the Tatoosh 42, Tayana 37 and Valiant 40. Through his career he has designed boats for many well recognized names in the yachting industry, such as Tayana, Cheoy Lee, Valiant, Baba, Ta Shing, Islander, Passport and Saga. Perry has taught yacht design at Evergreen State College.

Early life In 1957 when Robert H. Perry was twelve, he and his family moved from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, British Columbia. He writes that the trip made a lasting impression on him and spurred his interest in yacht design. At the beginning of his ninth-grade year, his family moved to Mercer Island, Washington, an area renowned for its school system. Here, his interest in sailboats really clicked. He met famous designer William Garden, joined the local yacht club, and excelled at mechanical drawing. Perry graduated with a 1.69 GPA from Mercer Island High School in 1964. The only local college that would accept him (and on a probationary status) was Seattle University. Rothman contacted Uniflite, a Bellingham, Washington boat builder, and by 1974 the first Valiant rolled off their line. The design combined the classic canoe stern cruiser shape with a fin keel and skeg hung rudder instead of the traditional full keel.

These two starts led to more design commissions for Islander Yachts and Tayana Yachts. Perry became a popular designer for Taiwan-built boats. beginning work in 2007.

Perry also designed a unique long narrow 62 foot double ended daysailer built at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, Washington, and launched in March, 2014. This design was inspired by a number of famous classic vessels including vessels designed by L. Francis Herreshoff, Bruce King and Bill Garden. Perry was selected to create the design due to his past very successful double ended designs and the recent success of a number of his designs on the race course.

Awards

1979, Yacht Racing/Cruising Magazine, Medal of Achievement for Performance Cruising Design 1989, Cruising World Magazine, Cruising Hall of Fame 1995, American Boatbuilders Hall of Fame, Valiant 40 inducted into Hall of Fame 2023, National Sailing Hall of Fame inductee

Boat designs