“The plans of a yacht depends on more than one process. It is always the product of the architect’s ideas and values. Good appearance is equally desired. I had always in mind the matter of balance, not only on the helm, but in all design elements. I thought of balance – end for end, above water vs. below, sail area vs. lateral plane, and as broadly as possible in the whole design – as the avoidance of extremes.
There, with the uncertainty of much yacht design, I made choices on estimated probability. No matter how small the detail, if one choice seemed likely to be more favoured than its alternative, it was worth doing.”
Olin J Stephens II – The Design Process, 2002
