McCurdy & Rhodes was founded in 1965 by James A. McCurdy and Philip ("Bodie") H. Rhodes to provide design and consulting services to individuals and builders of sail and power yachts. The firm built on the heritage of Philip L. Rhodes, Naval Architect, where Mr. McCurdy was the Chief Yacht Designer and Mr. Rhodes a Yacht Designer. McCurdy and Rhodes successfully furthered the basis of design creating practical, well found yachts, capable of safe extended costal and offshore racing and cruising. Since our inception, our designs are competitive; winning under multiple rating rules in offshore and local competition. The long list of offshore passages, Trans-Atlantic and circumnavigation voyages testify to the soundness of our designs.

Our pragmatic design approach allows us to provide builders of production yachts efficient customizable designs and result in some of the best known production boats from some of the finest builders. Some of our designs are the Hinckley Sou’wester 42/43/44, Sou’wester 51/52, and Sou’wester 59/61, the Seafarer 22, 23, 24, 26, 28/29, 30, 31 Mk II, 34, 37, 39, 42 and 46, and Heritage Yachts/ Intrepid Yachts Intrepid 35. In addition, twenty Navy 44 Sail Training craft were built by Tillitson Pearson for the United States Naval Academy to our design.

We are versatile in our professional capacity having designed power yachts, sail training vessels (up to 340’ LOA) for construction in wood, fiberglass, steel, and aluminum. In addition, provide consulting services on all aspects of the modification and re-building of existing yachts and other vessels including the redesign US Coast Guard certification of historic vessels. We are the consulting naval architect for the Atlantic and Wood Pussy class associations.

In 1980, Ian A. McCurdy joined the firm as a designer after four years at the American Bureau of Shipping as an Engineer in charge of computer analysis of the structure and stability of large commercial vessel. Ian had previously attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Degree in Civil Engineering and then The University of Michigan, graduating with a B.S. and an M.S. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Since the death of his father, he has assumed the role of Chief Designer for McC&R and has continued the high standards of yacht design that the clients of McC&R have come to expect. He has continued to support McC&R’s designs for their original owners and those that have taken over the responsibility of owning a McC&R design.