Wooden Boat AtlasDesigners, builders & classes · v3.0

Atlas / Designers

1909 – 1999 · Stamford, Connecticut

A. E. 'Bill' Luders Jr.

Designer and yard principal — Stamford, Connecticut

Ran his father's yard, pioneered moulded-plywood hulls, drew the Luders 16, and rebuilt a 12-Metre so thoroughly that who designed her is still argued about.

Yard
Directed Luders Marine Construction Co., Stamford
Innovation
Moulded-plywood hull construction
Luders 16
More than 200 built after the war
America's Cup
The yard built Weatherly (1958); Luders's modifications before the 1962 defence were extensive enough that design credit is shared or contested with Philip Rhodes
  • postwarLuders 16 — 200+ built
  • 1964American Eagle — 12-Metre
Sourcing notes & unresolved questions
  • Design credit for Weatherly is genuinely divided between Philip Rhodes and Luders in the sources; this atlas records both.

Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections