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Ted Hood (1927 — 2013) was a sailmaker, racing skipper, yacht designer, and entrepreneur.

Early life
Hood's father and grandfather were both engineers with many patents.

He served in the US Navy during World War II. He graduated from the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Business
He started making sails at home around 1947. Following the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season, he salvaged boats and resold them for a profit.

1950: Hood became a sailmaker in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1950 and soon partnered with C. Raymond Hunt. In 1951 he developed and patented a cross-cut spinnaker design which remained the standard until the 1970s.

1952; founded the Hood Sails in Marblehead, Massachusetts, for a time the word's biggest sail maker.

1959: founded Little Harbor Custom Yachts.

He was the first sailmaker to weave his own Dacron cloth.

In the early 1980 he sold the sailmaking business to focus on building boats. His Little Harbor branded boats were built in Taiwan.

In 1985 he bought the site of a former US Navy fuel depot in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he opened a marine service business. Starting in the late 1980s the market for new sailboats declined. Hood responded by moving to building powerboats, which were 100% of his sales by 1998.

2017: Hood Sails purchased by Quantum Sails.

1999: sold Little Harbor Custom Yachts to Hinckley Yachts.

Ted was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993, and the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.

Designer
Most of Hood's sailing yacht designs were characterized by a shallow draft, heavy displacement hull form with a centreboard. Known as the Hood delta hull design, it differed from convention keelboats in having a wider beam at the waterline, and the ballast low in the hull rather than in the keel. Compared to conventional designs, the delta form hull had higher stability, which meant it could carry more sail area. The design also had a smaller chain girth and therefor a smaller wetted area, and less drag. Aside from performance, the design also offers increase cabin area because of the wider waterline and lower cabin sole.

Notable designs
All are Bermuda rig masthead keelboats, except where noted.
 * AMF 2100: 1980 fractional rigged lifting keel sloop
 * Nefertiti: 1957 12-meter ocean racer
 * Bristol 39 and Bristol 40: built from the same mold, with long keel or centreboard, starting in 1966
 * Bristol 45.5: 1979 fixed keel and retractable centreboard
 * Hinckley 43 (Hood) and Hinckley 43 (Hood)-2: fin keel sloops with retractable centreboards first built in 1976
 * Little Harbor 44: 1983 a fixed fin keel with retractable centerboard
 * Paceship Westwind 24: 1966 fixed, rounded long keel with a retractable centreboard
 * American Promise: broke the solo circumnavigation record in 1986.

Racing highlights
Hood was known for picking good crew and letting them get on with it.


 * 1959 New York Yacht Club Annual Cruise
 * 1974 America's Cup on the Courageous
 * 1968 Newport Bermuda Race
 * 1961 and 1971 Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race