Alfred Mylne
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Alfred Mylne I - 1872-1951 - Scottish Yacht Designer
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[edit] Life
Alfred Mylne was born in Glasgow.
[edit] Work
Alfred Mylne the First was apprenticed to the famous Scottish shipbuilders, Napier Shanks and Bell, and later worked as draftsman to G.L. Watson, where he drew the plans of the Royal yacht ‘Britannia’ the racing cutter first owned by the Prince of Wales(later King Edward VII) which passed to his son, King George V.
Mylne set up his own office in 1896, which almost certainly makes his ongoing firm the world’s oldest yacht design firm in continuous production. He immediately established a reputation as a designer of winning yachts, and was one of the people behind the most successful yacht handicap rules of all time, namely the International Metre Rule. This rule was devised in 1906 and in the following years Mylne designed a wonderful collection of winners in the 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 15 metre sizes, as well as a 19 metre cutter Octavia in 1911. The ‘Metre’ lengths in the rule bear no relation to the overall lengths, and for instance 6 metres is about 20 feet, but yachts built to this size in the rule were up to 37 foot or 11.3 metres in overall length.
Uffa Fox was great friends with Alfred Mylne I, and he appears regularly in the books Uffa wrote before the Second World War. When Sir William Burton was having his first 12-metre "Marina" designed, this was reviewed in "Uffa Fox's Second Book" (1935)[1].
The mast of Marina, the 12-metre Alfred Mylne designed for Sir William Burton in 1935, was called upon to endure some very heavy strains before the racing season started, for on her passage from the Clyde to the South round the "Land" she met very bad weather....Though designed as a light-weather "12", Marina proved herself an able and seaworthy vessel, and came through that gale without damage to herself or her crew
Alfred Mylne was joined in his office by Thomas Glen-Coats, and in 1908 the Mylne and his apprentice Glen-Coats battled it out for Olympic honours in the 12-metre yachts "Hera" and "Mouchette". This is the only Olympic event ever held in Scotland.
Mylne designs were always admired for their elegance, and this was one reason why many owners came to him for cruisers of every size. He also produced One-Design classes and racing dinghies, launches and some commercial craft. In addition he bought a yacht building yard with his brother Charles and ran this from 1911 until he handed it over to his nephew, Alfred Mylne II in 1946 when he retired. Mylne ran the design office and yacht yard through both World Wars, producing craft for the Royal Navy as well as major components of flying boats for the Royal Naval Air Service.
[edit] References
- ^ "Uffa Fox's Second Book 1935, A Companion Volume to Sailing, Seamanship and Yacht Construction
