I have not been writing, nor reading for that matter, over the last several months. So I was excited to have Santa bring me a copy of Phil Bolgers’s Boats with an Open Mind. Spending the last few days leafing through the work of Phil Bolger reminds me that design is not a job for wimps, or for folks afraid to have strong opinions.
While pleased with a new position at Micron Technology, I have been working an uncharted area of my trade furiously for several months. When I took this position my wife wisely advised me to drop other pursuits in the interest of focus. Like so many things, she helped me remember the value of doing one thing at a time. Phil Bolger clearly understood the value of focus.
Phil’s work combines the simplicity of the Model T, with the craftsmanship of the masterful New England boat builders of the last two-hundred years. The ability to relentlessly pursue design, and understand the sometimes subtile difference between success and failure, stood Phil well.
It is with sadness I report that Phil died this year. His story ends with the clean lines and simplicity that marked his work and his life. Not one to shirk a challenge Phil left this world violently. I wish him godspeed on his next expedition.