1 source · updated 3 Nov 2026
Robert H. Perry moved from Sydney to Vancouver in 1957 as a child, then to Mercer Island, Washington, where he met designer William Garden. He dropped out of mechanical engineering studies at Seattle University after four years.
In 1970 Jay Benford gave him his first job as a yacht designer. His early designs, including the CT 54, were built in Taiwan. Alongside this he drew the Valiant 40, the first "performance cruiser", built from 1974, and worked for Dick Carter.
He became a sought-after designer for Taiwanese and North American yards (Islander, Tayana, Cheoy Lee, Baba, Passport, Saga), with designs such as the Tashiba 36 and Tayana 37. More recently he designed the SouthSea 61 for Pacific Seacraft and a 62-foot daysailer launched in 2014. He taught design at Evergreen State College and was inducted into the Cruising Hall of Fame (1989) and the National Sailing Hall of Fame (2023).