Thomas Colvin was born in 1925 in Chicago, and received his early education in Texas. At the post-secondary level, he studied mechanical drawing and engineering, and he apprenticed in shipbuilding in some of the leading European yards. Colvin joined the merchant marine at a young age, becoming a Master in Sail (any ocean, any tonnage) by age 20, and a Master in Steam (unlimited) at 23. He carried a drawing board to sea with him, continuing his studies in vessel design and construction. He made the Murmansk run twice in World War Two, and saw most of the ships around him go down. He has been senior designer in the Hull Technical Department of Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, consulting naval architect for Kaiser Aluminium Company, Chicago, proprietor of Colvin Yacht Builders of Hampton Virginia, president of Colvin Manufacturing Corporation (later Colvin Shipbuilding Company) and Colvin Sailmakers, of Miles Virginia, and president of Sidereal Offshore Logistics and Analytic Research Ltd. In 1973 he moved, with his wife Jean, to live and work on a vessel of his own design and construction, the junk-rigged K'ung Fu-tse. In 1989, Tom and Jean settled ashore once more, in Alva, Florida. Throughout this time, he has maintained his own design office, specializing in sailing vessels, and lately in commercial sail. In addition to his continuing design work, he provides consulting services for various shipbuilders and governments.
From cover notes toSteel Boatbuilding by Thomas E. Colvin, Ashford Press Publishing, 1985. ISBN 0-907069-29-0 Available from Red Sky at Night
Cruising as a way of life, Seven Seas Press, NY 1979. Available from Columbia Trading Company 1st Ed. 206 pp,very well illus., D.J., "from a weekend cruise to full-time living aboard." the approach of veteran boatbuilder drawing on 40 years of cruising experience, $30.00
Steel Boatbuilding, Ashford Press Publishing, 1985. ISBN 0-907069-29-0 Available from Red Sky at Night