Nigel Irens RDI is a yacht designer. He is the designer of the Adventure which is a 35m trimaran motor yacht which completed a circumnavigation in 1998. He also designed the B&Q/Castorama which is a 23 m sailing trimaran used by Ellen MacArthur to break the world record for solo circumnavigation in 2005.1
In addition to performance yachts, his design portfolio includes cruising designs such as Roxane,2 and other sailing designs of traditional appearance such as the Westernman3 cutters. He also designed the launch Rangeboat which is a 12m power craft of traditional appearance.
Irens' designs are recognized for their simplicity, efficiency, and, essential elegance.4 They synthesise traditional forms with modern materials and methods of construction, with Carbon fibre masts,2 laminated frames,3 and epoxied strip wood5 strongly in evidence.
The late Ed Burnett worked for Irens at the start of his career as a yacht designer. They collaborated on projects and worked together on designs such as Zinnia, a 30ft gaff cutter, Kilrush Nomad II, a 43ft gaff cutter,6 the Westernman cutters3 and the King Alfred dinghy7 to be built by King Alfred School in London. By 2012, the school had built three, and use them to introduce students to dinghy cruising.7
References
References
- NIGEL IRENS yacht designers from the UK www.solarnavigator.net, accessed 10 November 2019
- website for Irens' Roxane-Romilly family www.roxane-romilly.co.uk/, accessed 9 November 2019
- details of Nigel Irens' Westernman 40-ft-Pilot-Cutter sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk, accessed 9 November 2019
- Bergamini, Alessandra (23 December 2023). "Simplicity as the essence of good design". IFDM. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- Rangeboat details nigelirens.com, accessed 9 November 2019
- Rob Peake: Celebrated naval architect Ed Burnett has died www.classicboat.co.uk, accessed 10 November 2019
- King-Alfred Dinghy page at school website Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine