12-06-2006, 11:10 PM
Tom Fexas will go down in the annals of powerboat design history as one of a very select few powerboat yacht designers who advanced the basic concepts, styling, construction and design of modern powerboats. He was a humble, self-deprecating giant with a heart of gold and a sense of humor about himself, yacht owners and the whole boating industry that made him one of the best-known and loved yacht designers of our time. He died at age 65 after a long, undisclosed illness.
Fexas grew up on the north shore of Long Island to Greek parents and his experiences in the late 1940's and early "˜50s forever shaped his attitude and eye for powerboats and their lines. He became enamored of the long, narrow, sleek Consolidated and Elcos that plied the waters of Western Long Island sound, both as commuters to Wall Street left over from the days of "East Egg" and the Great Gatsby to the traditionalists of the "˜50s who remembered their heritage and kept the breed alive and afloat despite the advance of dry rot and fiberglass.
Tom, who seemed to always have a shy
on his face, graduated from the Maritime Academy at Kings Point, NY with a degree in engineering. From 1962 to '65 he was the 3rd engineer on the passenger ship SS Independence. He went on to work for the Electric Boat Company in Groton, CT as a nuclear project engineer on the Trident class subs from 1965 to 1977. In the meantime he got a degree from the Westlawn School of Yacht Design and in the mid "˜70s, became a NAMS-certified yacht surveyor, and began designing yachts. In 1977 he quit Electric Boat to over see the construction of his first yacht in Stuart, FL, which ended up being the first Midnight Lace, and Stuart his home for the rest of his life.
Midnight Lace caught the eye of Ft. Lauderdale yacht brokers Don Canavan and David Jackson, and soon he was doing design work for Cheoy Lee and more Midnight Lace designs of different sizes. Because of his background in engineering of nuclear subs where speed and weight are of prime importance he transformed his knowledge in to the design of light, fast powerboats propelled with small engines. He was one of the first naval architects to spec powerboats with composite materials using foam core, honeycomb materials and other devices to give strength with less weight than conventional powerboats which were largely overbuilt with bottoms of fiberglass and resin a couple of inches thick.
Fexas wanted speed and fuel economy which meant light boats, flat-ish bottoms, and narrow beams - much like the early Midnight Laces, for which he is remembered. In fact, only about 45 Midnight Laces in different sizes were ever built, and they are now collector's items - boats appreciated by a sophisticated few who understand Fexas' love the old commuters, with Tom's whimsical design twists. The last Fexas Midnight Lace was introduced at this year's Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, represented by Colonial Yacht Sales.
It was Tom's sense of humor that brought him to the attention of Bonnie O'Boyle, editor of the newly founded Power and Motoryacht magazine in 1985. Bonnie commissioned Tom to write a column every month on anything that struck his fancy - and the first one was a broadside at the utter futility of sailboats and the poor souls who had the poor judgment to love them. Never before had someone dared to prick the haughty, holier-than-thou arrogance of sailors, who had historically done nothing but look down their noses at "stink potters", who to them didn't know port from starboard, and who sported fenders dangling along their hulls while underway, a situation called by sailors as "Sea Ray" racing stripes. Fexas spoke the minds of millions of powerboat owners and got sweet revenge in his first column in 1985. Now that they are an endangered species, it is hard to imagine how seriously they once took themselves.
The article created a fire-storm of editorials from humorless sailors not only in boating magazines but in large daily newspapers as well. Needless to say, with one witty column, Fexas put both himself and the fledgling magazine on the nautical map. (PMY has long been the most successful marine magazine in the world.) Tom never looked back, nor did he ever apologize to the poor souls who love sitting in a cockpit in the wind and rain, wet and miserable, while heeled at a 30-degree angle unable to stand up, squat or sit down, going 4 knots 45-degrees from their intended course. (He wrote his PMY column from 1985 until 2003 - 18 years of Tom lovingly poking fun at the pompous in the boating Industry.
Tom's obit in the New York Times dwells on his Midnight Lace designs, but in fact that was the least of his body of work. Over 1,000 of his designs were built - from 17' to 150' by some of the best yards in the world. His 126' motoryacht "Time" built by Mike Kelsey's Palmer Johnson was revolutionary in design and one can still see her lines on some of sleekest large yachts built today. In 1995 he won the Superyacht award for 150" "La Baroness" built by Palmer Johnson. But he also designed boats for stock boat builders around the world, including the Southern Cross brand from Australia, and Mares which were built in Brazil and were the most innovative 20-footers of their era and Mickelson. Custom yards that built his designs include Burger, Sterling, Derecktor, Royal Denship, Trident, and Knight & Carver.
The powerboat community has lost a wonderful human being who brought speed, structural engineering, lightweight and innovation to powerboats, and a to all that knew him. God Bless you, Tom Fexas, we are honored to have known you.
Fexas grew up on the north shore of Long Island to Greek parents and his experiences in the late 1940's and early "˜50s forever shaped his attitude and eye for powerboats and their lines. He became enamored of the long, narrow, sleek Consolidated and Elcos that plied the waters of Western Long Island sound, both as commuters to Wall Street left over from the days of "East Egg" and the Great Gatsby to the traditionalists of the "˜50s who remembered their heritage and kept the breed alive and afloat despite the advance of dry rot and fiberglass.
Tom, who seemed to always have a shy
on his face, graduated from the Maritime Academy at Kings Point, NY with a degree in engineering. From 1962 to '65 he was the 3rd engineer on the passenger ship SS Independence. He went on to work for the Electric Boat Company in Groton, CT as a nuclear project engineer on the Trident class subs from 1965 to 1977. In the meantime he got a degree from the Westlawn School of Yacht Design and in the mid "˜70s, became a NAMS-certified yacht surveyor, and began designing yachts. In 1977 he quit Electric Boat to over see the construction of his first yacht in Stuart, FL, which ended up being the first Midnight Lace, and Stuart his home for the rest of his life.Midnight Lace caught the eye of Ft. Lauderdale yacht brokers Don Canavan and David Jackson, and soon he was doing design work for Cheoy Lee and more Midnight Lace designs of different sizes. Because of his background in engineering of nuclear subs where speed and weight are of prime importance he transformed his knowledge in to the design of light, fast powerboats propelled with small engines. He was one of the first naval architects to spec powerboats with composite materials using foam core, honeycomb materials and other devices to give strength with less weight than conventional powerboats which were largely overbuilt with bottoms of fiberglass and resin a couple of inches thick.
Fexas wanted speed and fuel economy which meant light boats, flat-ish bottoms, and narrow beams - much like the early Midnight Laces, for which he is remembered. In fact, only about 45 Midnight Laces in different sizes were ever built, and they are now collector's items - boats appreciated by a sophisticated few who understand Fexas' love the old commuters, with Tom's whimsical design twists. The last Fexas Midnight Lace was introduced at this year's Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, represented by Colonial Yacht Sales.
It was Tom's sense of humor that brought him to the attention of Bonnie O'Boyle, editor of the newly founded Power and Motoryacht magazine in 1985. Bonnie commissioned Tom to write a column every month on anything that struck his fancy - and the first one was a broadside at the utter futility of sailboats and the poor souls who had the poor judgment to love them. Never before had someone dared to prick the haughty, holier-than-thou arrogance of sailors, who had historically done nothing but look down their noses at "stink potters", who to them didn't know port from starboard, and who sported fenders dangling along their hulls while underway, a situation called by sailors as "Sea Ray" racing stripes. Fexas spoke the minds of millions of powerboat owners and got sweet revenge in his first column in 1985. Now that they are an endangered species, it is hard to imagine how seriously they once took themselves.
The article created a fire-storm of editorials from humorless sailors not only in boating magazines but in large daily newspapers as well. Needless to say, with one witty column, Fexas put both himself and the fledgling magazine on the nautical map. (PMY has long been the most successful marine magazine in the world.) Tom never looked back, nor did he ever apologize to the poor souls who love sitting in a cockpit in the wind and rain, wet and miserable, while heeled at a 30-degree angle unable to stand up, squat or sit down, going 4 knots 45-degrees from their intended course. (He wrote his PMY column from 1985 until 2003 - 18 years of Tom lovingly poking fun at the pompous in the boating Industry.
Tom's obit in the New York Times dwells on his Midnight Lace designs, but in fact that was the least of his body of work. Over 1,000 of his designs were built - from 17' to 150' by some of the best yards in the world. His 126' motoryacht "Time" built by Mike Kelsey's Palmer Johnson was revolutionary in design and one can still see her lines on some of sleekest large yachts built today. In 1995 he won the Superyacht award for 150" "La Baroness" built by Palmer Johnson. But he also designed boats for stock boat builders around the world, including the Southern Cross brand from Australia, and Mares which were built in Brazil and were the most innovative 20-footers of their era and Mickelson. Custom yards that built his designs include Burger, Sterling, Derecktor, Royal Denship, Trident, and Knight & Carver.
The powerboat community has lost a wonderful human being who brought speed, structural engineering, lightweight and innovation to powerboats, and a
to all that knew him. God Bless you, Tom Fexas, we are honored to have known you.