Lines plan for 41 foot yacht
Designer
Ernest Olney Digby
Date18 November 1949
Object numberANMS1543[068]
NamePlan
MediumInk on tracing paper
Dimensions655 x 830
ClassificationsMaps, charts and plans
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionAn Ernest Digby design from November 1949, showing the ‘hull line plan’, for a 41-foot-long keel sailing yacht with classic sheer line and long ends.
HistoryThe Ernest Digby lines plan for a 41-foot sailing yacht, made in November 1949, clearly shows his skills and passion as a yacht designer. The hull is very well proportioned, with the beam exactly one third of the waterline length, and a draught (depth) of six feet. The overhang at the ends, are also well proportioned to the overall shape, and helps bring out the beauty of the work. The hull stations, shown in all three views, indicate thirteen along the waterline, from ‘0’ ‘A’ to ‘L’ at the aft end. He also uses letters rather than numbers for the stations, which is typical of his particular style. There is no doubt the designer went to great lengths to produce this very good-looking yacht.
Born in 1882 at Port Fairy, Victoria, Ernest Olney Digby came from family of boat builders, sailors and fisherman. His father Joseph designed and built a Couta boat for himself, called ELLISE in 1903. Ernest became a boatbuilder/shipwright and later worked as shipwright foreman for the Melbourne Harbour Trust. He studied yacht design from books by Uffa Fox, and Scotsman William Fife, whom he admired, then designed and built boats at home in his spare time. One of his early boats was, INDEPENDENCE which he built in 1932.
Despite having eight children to raise with his wife Mary Anne, and only the wages of a working man, Ernest Digby designed and built DEFIANCE, the first Australian International 8-metre racing yacht in his backyard. A remarkable feat, which took place during the Great Depression when money and work was scarce. Built solely of Australian timber, Ernest Digby selected the best Queensland kauri for the hull planking and built the yacht with the help of three of his sons and a shipwright apprentice called Harry Clark. The International 8mR DEFIANCE, which is still sailing today, is 14.78 meter overall (48.49-feet) with a beam of 2.27 metre (7.44-feet). Launched in 1935 Ernest Digby owned the yacht for ten years, winning many races, including five Sydney to Hobart races.
His 8mR yacht DEFIANCE was particularly well named, as Ernest defied all class barriers at the time with his new racing yacht. Owning and racing a yacht in the 1930s was a sport only enjoyed by the rich and famous, including royalty. It was unheard of for a working shipwright to build and race such a yacht. He later designed and built a second 8mR in 1946 called FRANCIS named after his wife, Mary Ann Frances.
During his long and active career, Ernest Digby designed and built many fine yachts and commercial vessels. His design drawings are often very detailed, works of art compared to most modern equivalents. He is unquestionably one of the unsung heroes of Australian yacht design, building and racing. His passion and determination to design, build and race yachts is an inspiration which lives on, as many of his sons and family have become successful boat builders and yacht skippers. On receiving a new bicycle as a birthday gift, Ernest Digby was on the way to collect a newspaper when he was struck down by a drunk driver and killed at the age of 78 on November 12th 1960.SignificanceThe work is typical of the beautiful hull shapes Ernest Digby produced during his long and active career as a yacht designer and shipwright. The hull lines of this 41-foot sailing yacht indicates a well-balanced yacht, with traditional long overhang forward and aft, and the classic sheer line with its lowest point at Station I. 
