Look up the name of the person who designed your favorite boat, and you may find out that he or she learned about boat design at a correspondence school.

Not to worry. While mail-order academies may have a bad odor in some fields, in boating there's only one correspondence school–the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology–and it has been turning out top yacht designers for years.

Westlawn InstituteExplorer 65 by Doug Zurn.Ted Brewer, who has several America's Cup entries under his belt, and Bruce King, who designed the now-classic Hinckley Picnic Boat, are two of the most prominent Westlawn alumni. Others include David Martin, designer for Egg Harbor, Ocean Yachts and several other top manufacturers; Rod Johnston, founder of J/Boats and MJM Powerboats; Lynn Senour, designer for Nordic Tugs; Jack Hornor, who reviews boats for BoatUS Magazine; and dozens of other well-regarded boat designers.

That makes Westlawn, which is now run by the well-known American Boat and Yacht Council, both a curiosity and an industry standard in recreational boat design.

Established on a New Jersey farm in 1930, the school has evolved into the nation's best-known institution for small-craft designers, moving from an old-fashioned correspondence school to an online institution with a broad range of programs. Boosted by the boom in recreational boating and a lack of competition, Westlawn is now one of the premier schools for small boat design.

"The thing about Westlawn is that it's focused on just small-craft design," says Paul Miller, a licensed naval architect who teaches vessel design at the U.S. Naval Academy. "You can do it at your own pace, and it's based on practical training."

A SCHOOL'S EVOLUTION

Westlawn's rise has been a tale unto itself. Established by two local boat designers, the school focused initially on teaching students to design wooden boats, later going into fiberglass and aluminum as well. It also began publishing textbooks and training manuals on various phases of yacht design.

Its fortunes rose with the surge in recreational boating during the 1970s and 1980s. Coast Guard figures show that the number of recreational boats registered in the United States has soared from 5.5 million in 1971 to 12.7 million today, heightening the demand for boat designers. (Estimates from the National Association of Marine Manufacturers show that the number of recreational boats is even higher, closer to 18 million.)

Moreover, for Westlawn, there's been little real competition. School officials say that only two other accredited schools offer courses specifically targeted at small-craft design: the Landing School in Arundel, Maine, and the University of Southampton in England.

And schools of naval architecture at universities typically offer courses geared toward training designers of large, seagoing vessels, whose characteristics are far different from those of recreational boats. If their students get to take any course in small-craft design at all, it's usually an elective. By contrast, Westlawn specializes in designing vessels that are under 60 meters long, which traditional schools don't cover.

"It's very good at teaching how the industry wants you to design boats" the Naval Academy's Paul Miller says.Westlawn InstituteWhitehaw by Westlawn alum Bruce King.

Even so, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for Westlawn. By the school's own admission, it lagged behind during the 1960s, and badly needed an overhaul. The National Association of Engine and Boat Manufacturers took over the academy in 1968, hiring new staffers and redesigning the curriculum. In 2003, the school was sold to the American Boat and Yacht Council, which sets standards for boat design and construction in the United States.

During the past few years, Westlawn has upgraded itself to a "distance learning" institution that enables students to do their work over the Internet. The school uses state-of-the-art, computer-assisted design programs that instructors say give students the same hands-on training that they would get in a classroom.

"There's absolutely no difference between this and going to a class, except that in our case the 'lecture' is written out rather than delivered orally," says Dave Gerr, the school's director. "We have written assignments, reading materials and practical applications. By the time you've finished Westlawn's curriculum, you've designed a dozen boats."

'GET THE WORK DONE'

Students who complete the course requirements–38 lessons that take most students four years of part-time study–receive professional diplomas in yacht design. The course includes four, year-long modules covering everything from principles of small craft architecture, to boat and yacht design, structural design and construction methods and marine systems engineering.

Some 40 percent of Westlawn's students already have earned college degrees before they enroll there, and between 80 and 90 percent have completed some college courses, school officials say. Westlawn InstituteBoats designed by Westlawn alumni.

For people who already work in the boating industry–as captains, manufacturing supervisors and surveyors, for example–and want to know more about boatbuilding without actually becoming designers, the school offers a shorter course called "Yacht Design Lite" that packages individual lessons into a shorter course.

Aimed at providing students with a basic understanding of yacht design, the "Lite" course focuses on topics such as hydrostatics and stability, hull characteristics and fiberglass structure, but omits instruction on powerboat and sailboat design, electrical and plumbing systems, and interior design.

Full-time students who devote 30 hours a week or more to the course should be able to complete it in about six months, Westlawn says. Part-time students who spent about 15 hours a week can finish up in a year.

Many of Westlawn's students are already are employed in the marine industry when they enroll. The school says both full- and part-time students save money because Westlawn, now headquartered in Mystic, Connecticut, doesn't have a large campus to keep up. Tuition, books and design instruments for the full course total about $10,000, while the Yacht Design Lite program costs about $2,600.

Westlawn alumni tend to remain staunch supporters of the program. "What's different about it is that everybody there is eager to help you graduate–as long as you have the discipline to get the work done," says Ben Dodarell, a yacht designer at Hargrave Custom Yachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dodarell finished his course work at Westlawn in 2003 and later won an award for his design of a 185-foot motor yacht.