Sail and rigging plans related to the 18-foot TAIPAN
Designer
Ben Lexcen
(1936 - 1988)
Datec 1960
Object number00045954
NamePlan
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 583 x 780 x 1 mm
Copyright© Ben Lexcen
ClassificationsMaps, charts and plans
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Coral Taylor
DescriptionMast plan and standard hull bottom curve template after TAIPAN about 1960, blueprint on paper.
The plan includes notes by Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) and has drawings of the spreader base and forestay halyard fittings. The scale is not marked on the plan and the plan is not signed.HistoryTAIPAN was designed by Ben Lexcen when he was known as Bob Miller. The sails were also designed and made by Bob Miller in 1959. see HV000054
The plywood hull was designed and built in Queensland in 1959. It was just over 1.83 m (6 ft) wide, had three crew with its planing hull shape completely different to other 18-foot skiffs of the period. Miller was working for Norman Wright and Sons as a sailmaker when he designed TAIPAN. He built the craft with assistance from others including Norman Wright.SignificanceThese two plans are significant because they document Ben Lexcen's construction and design work on TAIPAN, the revolutionary 18-foot skiff which paved the way for the extreme planing craft of the class in the 21st century. They show both the impact of Ben Lexcen's revolutionary design and his creative proces.
