George Jensen

Below is the front cover of the June1938
issue of Pacific Motor Boat. Featuring design of
George's boat the Meteor

Is this the cruiser
of tomorrow
Pacific Motor Boat 1938

In the "Meteor" we have sensible nautical tradition interpreted with ultra modern feeling. The sponsors believe that this is the way a pleasure cruiser should look, and ride, and travel. Even if you. don't agree, you'll begin to wonder a'little.

RIGHT at the starting gun, let's understand that the 38-foot Meteor of Seattle is an actual craft. You can go out to the Jensen Motor-Boat Corporation, 1417 East Northlake, Seattle, and see her getting the final touches. She has had her trials and shown a cruisings peed of an easy 20 mph and a top pace rated conservatively at 25 mph.

Tony Jensen, her builder, has been cruising and building boats for thirty-five years. For a long time he has believed a cruiser could be turned out that would be a real pleasure boat, a pleasure to look at, a pleasure to drive, and a pleasure just to be aboard. He had in mind a cruiser practically noiseless, free from vibration, and yet with a speed to eliminate long, dragging voyages. She would be streamlined.

"And bear in mind," says Jensen, "that I say stream- lined. Very few boats are really streamlined. When you look at them in a profile drawing they appear streamlined, but beyond that, most of them have no connection at all with the theory of getting best results against water and wind resistance."

It was about three years ago that this idea began to take definite form., For starting it in motion, Jensen gives full credit to his eldest son, George Jensen of San Francisco. The younger Jensen had drawn several craft, both larger and smaller than the Meteor, embodying similar ideas. He began some drawings and Tony Jensen built a model. Last winter, work was slow in the shop, and the owner saw he could give more than the usual attention to a project of his own. There were plenty of skeptics, as always, but there were also several who encouraged Jensen to attempt the Meteor.
So one day last winter he brought the model to the foreman of the shop and said, "We're going to build this." The foreman looked at Jensen and said, "Hmm ... "Yes, sir, said Tony Jensen. "We're going to build her and we begin right now."'

That started something. There were workmen, brought up in the traditional design, who had to be cajoled and coaxed. There were also workmen who became immediatelv enthusiastic. There were visitors who (to be continued)

The boat is owned by Mike Moore, an international ship owner and businessman. METEOR is moored and maintained at Jensens' Boathouse on Portage Bay. You may reach Mike at Cribstone@aol.com .

Article reprinted from 1938 edition of Pacific Motor Boat