Owen Clarke Design

Owen Clarke Design Owen Clarke Design is a British naval architecture and yacht design firm specializing in high-performance racing and cruising yachts. Founded by Merfyn Owen and Allen Clarke in the mid-2000s, the firm produced influential designs that have competed in events such as the Vendée Globe, Transat Jacques Vabre, Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, and the Volvo Ocean Race. The practice is known for collaborating with builders, skippers, and naval engineers across France, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

History

Owen Clarke Design was established in Cowes on the Isle of Wight by Merfyn Owen and Allen Clarke, both with prior experience at leading yards and design studios including Owen Clarke & Associates predecessors and engagements with Beneteau, Jeanneau, and Hakes Marine. Early projects aligned the studio with high-performance offshore classes such as the IMOCA 60 and Class40, leading to commission work for skippers and syndicates connected to events like the Transat and the Rolex Fastnet Race. The practice expanded through the 2010s, developing one-design and custom projects while partnering with builders in Cowes, Lymington, La Rochelle, and Auckland. Over time the studio's roster grew to include project managers and naval engineers experienced with naval architecture from institutions such as University of Southampton and University of Auckland who had backgrounds in naval hydrodynamics and structural engineering for offshore racing campaigns.

Notable Designs

The firm’s portfolio includes several notable racing and cruiser-racer models that have seen competition and commercial production. Owen Clarke Design contributed to campaigns for skippers associated with races like the Vendée Globe and Transat Jacques Vabre, producing hulls and appendage configurations optimized for their programs. Noteworthy projects include IMOCA 60 concepts for entrants in the Vendée Globe and one-design developments for offshore events such as the Route du Rhum and the Transat Bakerly. The studio also produced cruiser-racer designs for yards linked to Bénéteau-era production thinking and for custom builders competing at the Cowes Week regatta. Several of their designs have been campaigned by sailors who have podiumed at the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and ranked highly in the Global Solo Challenge and other long-distance events.

Design Philosophy and Approach

Owen Clarke Design’s methodology emphasizes performance-driven naval architecture informed by computational fluid dynamics practitioners and towing tank data from test facilities such as those used by teams associated with University of Southampton and Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer. The studio integrates expertise in structural engineering drawn from collaborations with firms linked to British Standards Institution practices and composite manufacturing teams that supply yards in La Rochelle and Auckland. Their approach balances downwind and upwind performance priorities seen in modern IMOCA 60 and Class40 development cycles, incorporating appendage optimization, foil geometry, and rig configuration strategies familiar to designers who have worked on Volvo Ocean 65 and similar programs. Project management typically involves coordination with skippers who previously campaigned in events such as the Transat Jacques Vabre and naval engineers trained at institutions like University College Cork and New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington.

Awards and Recognition

Designs associated with the firm and their collaborators have received recognition at regattas and industry gatherings. Campaigns featuring their hull and appendage designs have achieved podium finishes at high-profile events including the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the Rolex Fastnet Race, and class victories in feeder races such as the Les Sables–Horta–Les Sables circuit. The studio’s work has been highlighted in coverage by maritime publications and showcased at exhibitions attended by organizations like the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and the International Boatbuilders Exhibition. Individual designers from the practice have presented technical papers and contributed to conferences hosted by institutions such as University of Southampton and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Owen Clarke Design has maintained strategic partnerships with builders, composite specialists, and skippers to deliver optimized campaign yachts. Collaborations include work with yards and teams in France linked to La Rochelle composite suppliers, with builders and sailmakers from New Zealand and Spain, and with project teams based in Cowes and Lymington. The firm frequently engages with naval engineering consultancies and research groups associated with University of Auckland and University of Southampton for performance analysis and validation. Cooperative projects have involved skippers who competed in the Vendée Globe and teams participating in the Transat Jacques Vabre, aligning design intent with sail inventory providers, rigging suppliers, and foil fabricators that have histories supplying campaigns to the Americas Cup and offshore racing circuits.

Category:Yacht designers Category:British companies established in 2005