Ben Lexcen is famous for the winged keel design applied to Australia II which, in 1983, became the first non-American yacht to win the prestigious America's Cup in 132 years.
13 Facts About Ben Lexcen
1.
2.
Ben Lexcen left school at age 14 to pursue a locomotive mechanic's apprenticeship but soon found his attention turning to sailboats.
3.
Ben Lexcen had great success with a series of these designs starting with the innovative "Ginkgo".
4.
Ben Lexcen's next design featured a host of advanced design features, not the least of which was a revolutionary winged keel, intended to lower the drag and to make the boat more stable and maneuverable in the water.
5.
Ben Lexcen often remarked that Australia II is a whole boat, not just a keel.
6.
Claims that Peter van Oossanen was the designer of the Australia II keel rather than Ben Lexcen have been strongly rejected by John Bertrand and by John Longley, an important member of the Australia II team using documentary evidence.
7.
Ben Lexcen was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to the winning design.
8.
Ben Lexcen was commissioned by Bond in 1986 to design a defender for the 1987 America's Cup.
9.
Ben Lexcen designed Australia III and Australia IV for Bond's two boat defense program.
10.
Australia competed in the Cup without a Ben Lexcen designed boat for the first time in ten years.
11.
Ben Lexcen died suddenly in Manly, New South Wales on 1 May 1988, of a heart attack at 52 years of age.
12.
Ben Lexcen is buried at Frenchs Forest Cemetery located in Davidson, New South Wales.
13.
In 2006, Ben Lexcen was posthumously inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.