A sad day.

Philip C. Bolger was a very prolific and unconventional designer of boats. He and his wife Susanne Altenburger really turned the world of traditional boat design on it's head by asking the questions "why?" and "why not?" Creative, unconventional and both highly influential and controversial would all be good descriptions of the man's thought process and desings. I cannot even begin to imagine the number of boats that have been build from their designs. He designed over 600 boats, including the iconic Micro and Birdwatcher designs. The body of work that he created was both wide and deep and it is frankly difficult to pick any one design to represent his work.

Two years ago, Mr. Bolger's work was recognized by WoodenBoat Magazine at a dinner held in his honor at the WoodenBoat show at Mystic Seaport.

Sadly, yesterday morning, Mr. Bolger decided that in the light of declining mental faculties that he would take his own life. His loss creates a hole in the boat-building world that will not likely be filled for a long, long time. Our condolences to his wife Susanne, family and friends.