Rip Martins

Martins was one of the first designer/builders to exploit the potential of GRP, and was instrumental in encouraging its acceptance among the sceptical boat yards of the 1960s.

He worked in the drawing office at Brooke Marine in Lowestoft, before moving on to Wind boats in Wroxham, where he designed timber motoryachts of up to 70ft.

When he branched out on his own, running a small boat yard building in GRP, his Bourne 35 and Saxon 40 hulls started a new generation of river cruisers.

In 1968, as a founding director of moulding specialists Aquafibre, he designed the 30ft hull which was the basis of the classic Broom, Moonraker and Ocean 30.

Ten years later, Martins helped in setting up Wolstenholme Yacht Design, still one of the UK's foremost boat design companies.

Rip Martins died April 2004, aged 81.