Tom Jones

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Anonymous (not verified)
Tom Jones
This isn't about the green green grass of home, but about the blue blue waves of the sea. :) I am considering a Tangeroa with mods by Tom Jones, designer of the Weekender Catamaran. I have found very little online about him, but he seems to be a bit of a polarising figure from his book reviews on Amazon. Any comments about his veracity as a Naval Architect? He seems to have written some books on sailing, and the sail plan he drew up looks thought out, but I had not heard of him before.
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Tom Jones
Tom Jones lived in New Jersey (USA) and from what I've read, started out building a Wharram which he and his wife sailed either to Bermuda or across the Atlantic in. He later got into designing and building his own boats which he again did ocean sailing/cruising on. These included cat(s) and trimarans(s) and I think some monohulls (dinks perhaps). Sadly, he passed away not long ago. One link to info is this: http://www.jonesboats.com/ The Woodenboat Forum has a posting on his passing, here: http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56886 You can probably learn more about his from the forum member who posted the obit. He was one of those folks who practiced what he preached, and risked his life using his designs to sail the ocean. Hope this helps. Fred, NY, USA
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Tom Jones
Indeed Tom & Carol Jones built two Wharram cats, the first being a Hina which they sailed from the US East Coast to Bermuda and encountered a Hurricane and survived to tell the tale. After the Hina called Two Rabbits, they built a modified Tanenui and sailed that extensively. They actually sailed with Ruth Wharram from the US to The Azores on that boat which was called Vireo. I have two of his books: Mulithull Voyaging & The New Plywood Boats, both great reads, The man was a great writer and I really like his catamaran Dandy II GregF
Anonymous (not verified)
Re: Tom Jones
I met Tom Jones and his wife at a Chesapeake Cruising Multihull meeting in the early 90's. He presented his building a sailing history, including his time sailing with Ruth, and with him and his wife crossing the Atlantic during a hurricane in their boat. I have 3000 miles on Corsairs on the Chesapeake, San Diego, and Florida. Obviously that is not a cruising boat. If I would want to cross a big pond, I would use a Wharram or Jones design, and sail them intelligently, having on board appropriate sea anchors. Jones' designs seem to me to be very close to the Wharrams. I think Tom tried to make his living by actually building the boats, not by selling plans. I suspect that if you flip a Wharram/Jones boat, you had better stay off the water, or are VERY unlucky. Caution, preparation, and sea anchors should get you home scared, but safe. Happy Sailing. Bob Buettgens