Quick Facts
Biography
Roderick Macalpine Downie (ca. 1934–1986) was an English multihull sailboat designer and sailor.
He was a King's Scholar at Eton, majored in biology, but seriously considered a career as a concert violinist.
Design career
After seeing a Shearwater catamaran while chicken farming in Scotland, Downie resolved to design a superior vessel, producing the Thai Mk4 catamaran.
The Thai Mk4 was extremely successful, winning all six races of the 1962 European 'one of a kind' regatta, in addition to the first International Catamaran Challenge in 1963.
Legacy
Downie is said to have been the first to try both 'una rig' and wing masts. Later Crossbow designs won multiple speed competitions.
Death
Downie died in 1986, aged 52. A new Crossbow design was partly completed, which Downie believed was capable of 70+ knots.
Designs
- Crossbow series catamarans
- Thai Mk4