George Olson Passed Away Last Week

George built some really nice boats , I was takin by one boat so much I did a painting of it.

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I heard from friends in Santa Cruz that Geoge passed away. Some of you may have known George or knew of him. He was a great sailor, craftsman and designer. He shaped boards for Jack Oneill in the sixties, had his own shop for a while, Olson surf boards, after that he began working on sail boats. He worked with Bill Lee on the ultra light boats before starting, with his wife, his own boat works designing and making some very successful boats. I know his friends in Santa Cruz will miss him.



http://www.moore24.org/moore/boatOfMonth.html

http://www.olson30.org/theboat/georgeolson.html

I got away from surfing and started sailing in the mid-late 70's as Santa Cruz was creating what were to become ULDBs. I never got to know George except to nod hellos, but I did become friendly with his partner (wife?) Ln Neale. I had taken a photo of (sorry, forget his name but know exactly who he is) singlehanding his 030 and sold it to them for print ads. She thanked me many years later for helping them sell so many boats because of the photo. Those were incredibly fun days, hanging around the old Aldo's hoist and watching the antics of all the guys that were part of the George Olson/Bill Lee crowd. The 030 is a timeless design - good looking, fast, and scary downwind in a blow. The boat I sailed on may have made it as high as third in the Nationals, with at least a few top 10 placings. Didn't care really, just enjoyed the work and fun generated by those boats. Many credit him with designing Merlin.
His surfboard decal was classic.

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Those were incredibly fun days, hanging around the old Aldo's hoist and watching the antics of all the guys that were part of the George Olson/Bill Lee crowd. The 030 is a timeless design - good looking, fast, and scary downwind in a blow. The boat I sailed on may have made it as high as third in the Nationals, with at least a few top 10 placings. Didn't care really, just enjoyed the work and fun generated by those boats. Many credit him with designing Merlin.
His surfboard decal was classic.
I spent three Winters in SC. 1979,80, and 81. Went sailing a few times with Homer Lighthall (?) on his boat. I recall that Homer was into something called light displacement hulls. A good friend of mine knew Homer well and was involved in the harbor 'scene'. He specialized in wooden boat repair. As I recall, Homer designed the Santa Cruz 27 (?). The name "Merlin" rings a bell. Somewhere, I have an old SC newspaper ("Senile"?) with an article about Homer and his boats. I'll try to find it.

Anyway, here's an Olson ad from 1964, and part of a Hang Ten ad with Doug Haut holding an Olson. You might recognize the kid and the other guy in the photo.

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=82290&hl=george+olson

Quote:Went sailing a few times with Homer Lighthall (?) on his boat. I recall that Homer was into something called light displacement hulls.

Homer has been pretty sucessful with boat repair - large projects and small. His Lighthall 30 was stored for years in a yard on 7th right outside the doors to the shop where Olson built and sold his surfboards.

Quote:A good friend of mine knew Homer well and was involved in the harbor 'scene'. He specialized in wooden boat repair.

Initials "B.M." and currently working on boats in the south of France?

Quote:As I recall, Homer designed the Santa Cruz 27 (?).
Bill Lee designed it (along with the Highway Patrol - many boats of that time were deisgned to be under the maximum width for trailering. I kind-of recall some joking that the Olson 30 fudged the rule a little figuring the cops wouldn't actually measure it)

Quote:The name "Merlin" rings a bell.

The 67' "Merlin" was built in chicken coop on a hill just outside of Soquel.
From Wikipedia - In 1977 the yacht "Merlin", designed by Bill Lee, set a elapsed time record of 8 days, 11 hours,1 minute. This record would stand for 20 years. Ending "Merlin's" record a new monohull elapsed time record of 7 days, 11 hours 41 minutes and 27 seconds was set by Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket, a 73 foot maxi ultralight designed by Reichel/Pugh in the 1997 Transpac Race.