Rosie and Doug Hinge A partnership made together with the love of all things nautical.

Designing small craft, computer modelling them in 3-D, and then zooming about in fast boats in exotic locations has got to be a dream job. For Rosie and Doug Hinge they have made it a reality – albeit one that involves a lot of hard work and office time. Overlooking the Tamar on a balmy summer evening they tell me more about their unusual career and life together both at work and at play.

Born just three hours apart on opposite sides of the globe, once they finally met, on a boat, of course, they have spent the best part of thirty years side by side. Rosie was brought up in Bosham, West Sussex into a family of sailing enthusiasts. After achieving a Mechanical Engineering Degree at Kings College, London she moved to Southampton to be near the sea. In her twenties she volunteered in the “Ocean Youth Club” (now Trust) as a second and then first mate, and across a crowded saloon, met Doug.

Doug’s family were not nautical, and lived in Surrey, far from the sea. Despite this Doug harboured a desire to sail and bought himself a small plywood sloop.  In 1984 he joined the Ocean Youth Club as a staff first mate and a year later he and Rosie sailed her parents’ 35’ yacht to the Caribbean and back. Living in such close quarters is a good test of a relationship and after weathering stormy seas and starry skies they could clearly see a future together. On their return Rosie bought a 28’ Twister and moored up in Southampton where Doug began the Yacht & Small Craft Design course at Southampton Institute of Higher Education.  This lead to membership of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and a qualification as a Chartered Naval Architect.

After a year living aboard the Twister, they realised more space was required and they moved ashore. Marriage was followed by two sons and soon after that Doug became self-employed as a Naval Architect and set up Douglas Hinge and Associates, which later became DHA Marine Design Ltd in 2006.  An early fast boat contract meant 6 months in Wisconsin, USA, where the family all went and had a great time, in the snowy winter. Rosie gained marine engineering experience at Vosper Thornycroft before becoming a fellow director of DHA.  Since then they have worked together.

Doug and Rosie do a lot of work for the large Dutch company Damen Shipyards, which has shipyards all over the world. They design high speed powerboats, especially highly manoeuvrable Interceptors for commercial and military use, up to about 25 metres in length.  Rosie specialises in the engineering and ergonomics of the design, whilst Doug tackles the naval architecture and structure.

They are not quite fully qualified Devonians yet, having only moved to Weir Quay three years ago, but Doug has joined the appropriately named singing group “Tavy Tars” and Rosie is a member of the Yelverton Rotary Club. They have a yacht moored on the Tamar which they sail during weekends and holidays with plans to circumnavigate Great Britain, before long.

How fortunate and rare for Rosie and Doug that they have in each other a partner who is compatible in so many ways. They are able to share their lives together on board, in the office and at home.  

Nichola Williams