Wayland, George H.

Historical or Biographical Note

BIOGRAPHY: George H. Wayland (1885-1947). George H. Wayland was educated at the University of Washington and began his professional career in the Seattle area. During World War I he worked for the Emergency Fleet Corporation at shipyards in Seattle and Tacoma, where he rose to the position of assistant superintendent of the Tacoma yard. Following the War, Wayland joined the Seattle design firm of Lee & Brinton, and was instrumental in opening their San Francisco office. In 1926 he left the firm to begin a solo design practice. Over the next two decades, Wayland either worked with or did contract work for the following ship and boat building yards on the west coast: Colberg Boat Works (Stockton); Geo. C. Boardman Co. (San Francisco); H.R. Fish & Co.; Wayland for Haviside Company; J.H. Madden and Co.; Madden and Lewis (Sausalito); Nunes Bros.; and Rasmussen Boat Works.

Among the noted vessels designed by Wayland are Volante (1936, sloop), Tamalmar (1927, 57 foot schooner), Alotola (ex Water Wheel, 1927, 57 foot schooner), Lady Jo (1932, schooner), Altair (1927, ketch), Mary Beth (1927), Marquita (1929, motor yacht), Skeeter (1930), and Graemar (1940). During the 1930s, Wayland also completed a few commercial designs, including a 1937 design for a 45 foot wooden tow boat, Telco, which was built at the Sausalito yard of Madden and Lewis for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. The Telco is a museum vessel at Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (SAFR 20427).

George Wayland is particularly well remembered as the architect who redesigned John Alden's 1922 original Bird class design, which measured 29 feet. In 1926 the Bird Boat association paid Wayland $100 to redesign the Bird Boat, which resulted in the 25 foot Golden Gate Design Class One, otherwise known as the Baby Bird design.

According to Thomas Skahill, George Wayland was "something of an unsung master during his lifetime [but his boat designs] remain in high regard by the West Coast maritime community." He was an important mentor to noted Bay Area yacht designer and builder Myron Spaulding; Myron Spaulding collected and preserved this collection of George Wayland's naval architectural plans. Examples of George Wayland's design drawings can be found in other collections held by the park.

SOURCES: (1) Gregory O. Jones, The American Sailboat (St. Paul, MN. : MBI Publishing, 2002). (2) Lucia del Sol Knight and Daniel Bruce MacNaughton (editors), The Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers (New York : W.W. Norton, 2006).

From the guide to the George H. Wayland naval architectural drawings, 1929-1947, and undated, (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department)