Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs are the Men Behind the
Mutineer, and combined they were responsible for over 80 other sailboats. Rod was the genius behind the designs. Dick had technical know-how regarding
construction, fiberglass, and sailmaking. Together, for 23 years, they made
up one of the greatest design teams in the history of sailboats. Most
notable was the incredible respect and trust they had for each other, a spirit
that may possibly influence those who are attracted to their boats.
Dick was very humble, always deferring the glory to Rod. As evidence is the Chrysler literature which
lists only Rod as the designer.
Rod and Dick designed some 80 sailboats
with a combined production in excess of 150,000 units for builders in the U.S.,
UK, Germany, Italy and Japan. Thirteen of the most commonly known boats in the US that they co-designed include six that were built by the Chrysler Boat Corporation. Click here to see
pictures of the sailboats listed below:
Shark - 1962
Dingo 15 - 1963
Man-O-War* - 1964
Phoenix 18 - 1965
Sidewinder 16 - 1968
Buccaneer 18* - 1968
Copperhead 14 - 1970
Bandit 15 - 1972
Bandit 17 - 1972
Mutineer 15* - 1972
Musketeer 17* - 1973
Pirateer 13* - 1974
Dagger 14* - 1976
* = produced by Chrysler
The following historical background is by Michael Connolly:
Dick Gibbs formed Gibbs Boat Company in 1950 when he was 21 years
old. Dick built wooden and later fiberglass boats in his plant in LaSalle, MI.
The Gibbs Boat Company had produced some 6,000 sailboats by 1972 when he sold
the business to MFG in Union City, PA. The principal boats built during this
time period were Y-Flyers, the Rhodes Bantam, the Shark, Phoenix, Dingo
catamarans and the Thai MK4 catamaran designed by Rod Macalpine–Downie.
Rod Macalpine–Downie was a brilliant King’s Scholar at Eaton
College who had no formal training in yacht design. Rod had seen the Shearwater
catamaran, which was the latest rage in the UK, and felt that he could do a
better job. The Thai MK 1 class B catamaran was the first boat Rod designed. Rod
handily won the UK One of a Kind Regatta with ‘straight bullets’ in 1961.
Shortly after, Rod Licensed Dick to build the Thai MK4 for the U.S. market.
Dick had built about 100 Thai MK 4’s by the time they first met in
person.
In 1962 Dick and Rod finally met at the First International
Catamaran Challenge at Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY, where Rod raced his Hellcat
class C design to yet another victory. It was during this time that they agreed
to corroborate on the Shark Catamaran Project. They were to campaign the Shark
prototype throughout the United States. This barnstorming adventure would begin
in Montreal in 1962, travel as far west as El Paso, TX, back to the America’s
Cup at Newport in September, down to win the President’s Cup in D.C. and on to
Yachting’s One of a Kind Regatta in Miami in February of 1963. While in New
Orleans during this adventure they formed a boat design partnership, which began
with a handshake and continued until Rod’s death in 1986. During that time Rod
and Dick designed some 80 sailboats with a combined production in excess of
150,000 units for builders in the U.S., UK, Germany, Italy and
Japan.
Their business relationship was a simple one, begun with a
handshake and based on a steadfast trust in and respect for each others’
talents. Both men were competent designers. Rod’s strength was in hull form and
Dick’s in production engineering. While both participated fully in all
deliberations of design, they agreed early on that in areas of disagreement Rod
had the final word in hull form and Dick in production engineering. Dick fully
appreciated that it was Rod’s genius in hull form design that made the Buccaneer and the Mutineer the fine boat that they are.
Chrysler had purchased in 1964 or 1965 the Lone Star Boat Co. in
Plano, TX and in addition to the Lone Star 13’ and 16’ they had added a Gus
Linell design; the ‘Barracuda’, a 13’ dagger board, cat rigged scow. There had
been a major surge of sailboat production during that decade and demand for
Chrysler’s sailboats was dwindling. In (1968) the Marketing Director of Chrysler
Marine, who had recently moved over from MFG, employed Rod Macalpine-Downie and
Dick Gibbs to submit designs for sailboats that would help bolster Chrysler
Marine’s position in the sailboat market.
Prior to associating with Chrysler; Downie-Gibbs had designed the
16’6” ‘Upstart’ for Bud Sanxter of Starcraft in Goshen, IN and the 15’5”
‘Sidewinder’ for Art Hansen of MFG in Union City, PA. along with several other
designs for the UK and German market. In 1968 the 15 foot
prototype of the Man-o-War, originally designed for Starcraft,
had recently been completed. When Bangor Punta bought Starcraft he decided to
get out of the sailboat business and backed out of Starcrafts’ contract to build
the boat. The Man-o-War was then made available to Chrysler to become the first
design by Downie-Gibbs to be produced by Chrysler. The next in line was the
Buccaneer 18’ followed by the Mutineer 15’, the Musketeer, a 16’ catamaran, the
Pirateer 13’ and the Dagger 14’6”, an updated version of the
Man-o-War.
