Uus Van Essen

Uus van Essen (full name: Uus van Essen; c. 1910s–1970s; exact dates sparse in records) was a prominent Dutch naval architect and boat designer active in the mid-20th century, renowned for his contributions to high-performance planning dinghies. Based in the Netherlands, van Essen specialized in lightweight, responsive hulls that emphasized speed and simplicity, influencing the golden age of European one-design sailing. He is best known for co-designing the Flying Dutchman (FD) in 1951—a 20 ft two-person Olympic class (1960–1992) with over 10,000 hulls built—and the International Flying Junior (FJ) in 1955, a 13 ft youth trainer with 10,000+ units. Both collaborations with Olympic sailor Conrad Gülcher (co-designer and class secretary until 1989) helped popularize trapeze-equipped racers worldwide. Van Essen's work bridged wooden construction and early fiberglass, promoting inclusive sailing through fair, tunable designs.