Here is Walt. Still good with a pencil. Looking at the Fino drawings.
Here is Walt. Still good with a pencil. Looking at the Fino drawings.
Last edited by bertsboat; 12-01-2014 at 12:50 PM. Reason: spelling
I have far too many boats, just ask my Wife.
If you have something of great quality, and you take care of it, it will last forever.
Never Economise on Luxuries
----Thanks, Bert!!! What a treat it was to go to Walts with you, Mark and Jeff that day. Im still blown away buy what Walt has accomplished during his life. He must have never slept. All that and just so humble, and a great life partner in his wife as well.......Bill S
That's a great picture!......he looks so vibrant!..........you guys are so lucky to share some time with such a major player in boat design!.......where does he reside?
1983 Cigarette 35' Mistress
1976 Magnum 27' Sport
1986 Donzi 18' Classic
NEVER FORGET 9/11
We really have to appreciate the fact that so few of these guys are still around and try to do all we can to get everything historical out of them while we are still able to .
Besides Walt and Brownie how many are still left ?
It's so sad that when they're gone it's like loosing a great grandparent who grew up in the sticks without electricity and had nothing to their name at all , or were veterans of one of the World Wars but were the best people you ever knew. Then you realize that you never took the time to sit down with them and ask them all the details about their life.
Just because something's old doesn't mean you throw it away !
Walt signed a Donzi flag for me a few years back. Thanks to Cliff for that
haven't flown it yet
We only planned to stay for about 1hr with Walt but after opening a lost case of more of Walt's drawing 4hrs was not enuff. As much as I thought I knew about offshore I never realized Walt had so much to do with the boat designs we see & use today.
A contemporary and good friend of Walters, Sonny Levi, is still alive......at least he was six months ago, or so. He's about 88 years old.
If you're not familiar w/him, he was the Ray Hunt of Europe. His book, "From Dhows to Deltas" is a must read for aspiring performance boat designers. BTW, Hunt died in '78.
Michael Peters has said he is a student of sonny Levi, and to quote Peters:
" I’m not a naval architect. So everything I do relies on somebody to set me straight and interpret it. In revisiting these books I
realized the person I really learned everything from was Sonny Levi."
IF only Levi lived here in the US instead of Italy and the Isle of Wight.
George Carter
Central Florida
gcarter763@aol.com
http://kineticocentralfl.com/
“If you have to argue your science by using fraud, your science is not valid"
Professor Ian Plimer, Adilaide and Melbourne Universities
George,
Sonny is still kickin'. I had met him in Cowes this year at the awards ceremony.
He was kind enought to join us for a photo with the rest of the "Dry Martini"
Racing Team.
Jeff
" Just piercing the surface"
George Carter
Central Florida
gcarter763@aol.com
http://kineticocentralfl.com/
“If you have to argue your science by using fraud, your science is not valid"
Professor Ian Plimer, Adilaide and Melbourne Universities
Here you go George,
Jeff
" Just piercing the surface"
Can you put names to faces?
I am guessing Jeff far right
Didn't I meet you last year in Florida???
George Carter
Central Florida
gcarter763@aol.com
http://kineticocentralfl.com/
“If you have to argue your science by using fraud, your science is not valid"
Professor Ian Plimer, Adilaide and Melbourne Universities
Hi Ed. We had dinner at the Mission Inn.
Mike Bontoft is on the left he owns and throttles the boat. Christian Toll is next to Mike and drives the boat.
Christian's Father used to own "Magnum Tornado" one of Don's race boats. He now has a Magnum 27 sport from which the green flag was dropped to start the race this year.
Jeff
More Walt,
Here I am with Walt. We are holding our Cowes Torquay trophies.
That's two Minnesotans who have raced Cowes 50 years apart.
Walt Raced it in '63 with Tommy Sopwith in a 31' Bertram.
My first year was 2013 in "Dry Martini".
Did you know, Walt was the Chief Plastics Engineer at Bertram?
Jeff
that is very cool.
Great pic and thank you for sharing the post.
Humbled ...
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