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Issue No. 312
September / October 2026
Beauty in Boat Design
The evidence of inspiration and features I love looking at
BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ
John G. Alden created a series of yachts, almost all of them schooners, with the same name and numbered sequentially, for his own use. MALABAR II, so named as the second of these, was built in 1922. Alden was admired in his own time, and today, for the beauty of his designs. Many of those design elements carried over into his Malabar Junior, which first appeared in 1926.
The success of a boat design is largely dependent on four considerations: safety, performance, comfort, and beauty. The purpose for which the boat was designed will influence the priorities of these components. Other than extreme examples—such as a lifeboat, for which safety is the overwhelming design objective, or AMERICA’s Cup racing, where speed is the goal at all costs—I think that none of these four components can be eliminated without compromising the overall merit of the boat.
Harry Bryan and I have long been on the same page when it comes to appreciating beauty in boats, and I’m pleased to join him in addressing the issue.
Coming up with standards for what’s pretty when it comes to boats (and lots of other objects, for that matter) is a tough call. But even though beauty is hard to articulate, I’ve developed a few thoughts that have worked for me in evaluating a boat’s aesthetics. They’re not for everyone, and I don’t by any means present this as a list of universal standards. Like Harry, I only hope they push good looks higher up on your list of priorities.
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