July 10, 2016

Franco Harrauer 1927 - 2016

Franco Harrauer born Milan in 1927 has left the World to a better place on 9 July 2016.  Franco was a character from another time, one of those that leave you a sign, a smile. Even just thinking of him as a man, cartoonist, aerodynamics expert and an endless passion for the sea applying his expertise for hydrodynamic design into motor pleasure craft, and sailing.  An expert all arounded, architect and eclectic narrator, has delighted over the years his attentive readers with lots of stories and even fictional anecdotes of the onslaught in the First and Second World War.  Interesting are the materials applications used for his hulls, special care for trawler catamarans, the meeting with his friend and designer Renato "Sonny" Levi has led to some unique achievements in hull design. These include a unique and exciting World first sailing boat with planing hull: Exocetus Volants. Franco Harrauer holds numerous awards such as the Gold Keel and also patents that even today are a reference point.  His most known collaboration with a still an existent shipyard was with Alfamarine where he designed among other models its still to date best seller 40 Bronte launched in 1975 and in collaboration with Renato Sonny Levi, and then all alone the one off 83 launched in 1986 and then 90 model launched in 1990.  Both of which where flagships for the Fiumicino, Rome boat builder at the time of launch.  Franco Harrauer has in recent years published some interesting articles on the classic motor boat specialist blog Altromareblu of which I suggest anyone with interest in hull design and boat projects to read. 

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