Wooden Boat AtlasDesigners, builders & classes · v3.0

Atlas / Designers

1868 – 1954 · Gosport, Hampshire

Charles E. Nicholson

Naval architect — Gosport, England

The designing Nicholson of Camper & Nicholsons: pioneer of laminated wood hull construction, author of two Shamrock challengers and of the J-Class Endeavour and Velsheda.

Firm
Camper and Nicholsons, Gosport, founded 1782; Charles and his brothers ran its golden era
Innovation
Laminated-wood hull construction (Istria, 1912) and plywood decking
  • 1912Istria — 15-Metre; laminated hull
  • 1914 / 1930Shamrock IV / Shamrock V — America's Cup challengers for Sir Thomas Lipton
  • 1934Endeavour — J-Class
  • 1933Velsheda — J-Class

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