Retro-Style

How designs from a bygone era make a splash today.

Call me an old soul, but I have a certain affection for all things classic: cars, movies, clothing, and even boats. Though there are many modern beauties on the water today I admire, show me a classic design with some varnished wood, and my heart flutters. Throw in the performance characteristics of a present-day build, and I’m in love.

A retro-style boat combines the roots of classic wooden boatbuilding with the technology of today. Ward Setzer of Setzer Design Group describes retro-style as, “Putting a modern twist on the past.” The designs harken back to the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s, or even ’50s–reminiscent of the old lake boats, commuter craft and rumrunners–but no matter how far down memory lane the design takes you, today’s advanced building processes keep it firmly rooted in the present, delivering the best of both worlds.

According to Michael Peters of Michael Peters Yacht Design, there are two distinct ways that a designer will go about combining classic styling with modern technology: One is a very literal interpretation to remake an old design, and the other is simply taking elements that remind you of the past. “My personal leaning is towards the latter,” he says, “where you only take silent cues and you’re not so literal.”

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