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Hargrave Hall of Fame

Setting standards, one yacht at a time.
Jack Hargrave
Jack Hargrave’s designs are widely considered to be the pinnacle of naval architecture. Yachting Archives

“There are times where I am able to count the number of yachts down there that I designed,” Jack Hargrave told Yachting’s then-associate editor Charles Barthold nearly 27 years ago, some 25 stories above a collection of marinas in West Palm Beach, Florida. “Usually it’s anywhere between seven and 12.”

“There is nothing smug about Hargrave as he says this,” Barthold wrote in the March 1989 issue of Yachting. “In fact, he is a rather reserved man, modest as he looks out over the water. But it is clear that Hargrave relishes the fact that his accomplishments can be so easily viewed and counted.”

Easily viewed and counted might be an understatement. In 1989, Hargrave had already created 75 powerboat designs for Hatteras Yachts and close to 30 more for Burger. The 75 powerboat designs for Hatteras produced over 6,000 yachts. Many are still plying the water today.

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