Jaques Mertens-Goossens

[gonandkarl]

My sincerest condolences to his family. I had the pleasure of meeting him 7 years ago at the Homosassa meeting and I was so glad that I could speak to the designer of my boats. He answered all my questions about the boats for nearly 10 Years and I agree with it that he will live on through the designed boats which were built by the members of this big bateau family worldwide. That he is gone is a big loss for all of us.

[Aripeka Angler]

I am very sad to hear this, he has been here to help me and countless other builders with design questions for many years. He will be surely be missed. One of my most vivid memories of him was watching him laughing at me at a builder’s meet in Marathon trying to eat Dutch pickled herring (without hurling). He was truly one of a kind and an awesome man.

[Dan_Smullen]

Oh my. So sorry to hear this. My condolences to his immediate and BBC family.

A large part of his legacy is on the water making people happy everyday.

[BB Sig]

My sympathies to the BBC crew and his family. The boating world lost a great designer.

[OneWayTraffic]

I'm going to miss his polite, but also blunt and salty comments:

"I feel like you want me to tell you that it will work, but I can't sorry"

Or

"Our boats are designed for amateurs, not by amateurs"

It won't be the same without him here.

[OlivierP]

Very sad to hear. He was not only a great designer, but also always so helpful and devoted to the community.

[Netpackrat]

I am very saddened to read this. Like Evan, I first encountered Jacques on the rec.boats.building newsgroup on Usenet back in the mid-90s while I was a college student. I was trying to finish a small boat by a different designer, and even though I wasn't yet his customer, he took the time to point me to the right info, and gave me good advice that allowed me to proceed with my project. My condolences to his family and the folks at BBC.

[TomTom]

I have not been on the forum for a while - but am greatly saddened to hear this news. I built my first boat - an OD 18 - when I was 19 years old and still in collage. That was in 2000.

I never met Jacques in person; but will forever be eternally grateful to how his boat designs, his patient, and knowledgeable dedication to monitoring and growing this forum, and his obvious passion for amateur boatbuilding shaped and impacted on my life. I suspect many others would say the same - that he unwittingly changed the course of many people’s lives through his passion for boats.

I wish I had made time to attend a boat get together and meet him in person.

My condolences to all the family.