Farr Yacht Design

Farr develops custom and production yachts, including interiors, sails, and hull design.

Bruce Farr first achieved acclaim as a sailboat designer in the highly competitive 18 ft Skiff class, popular in Australia and New Zealand.

Farr designs won the 18 ft Skiff Giltinan World title several times in the early 1970s.

Another New Zealander active as both a designer and sailor in the 18 ft fleet, Russel Bowler, a civil engineer by training, introduced the fibreglass-foam sandwich construction technique to the 18 ft class in 1977 with a boat 1/3 lighter and possessing a lower wetted area than the competition.

Many of Bruce Farr's early designs were comparatively skiff-like in appearance, with shallow hulls, wide sterns and light displacement.