Bethwaite Design started as Starboard Products in 1965 when Frank Bethwaite chose not to go back to commercial flying as a Chief-Test Pilot for Air New Zealand and Qantas preferring to go and play with boats. At the time there was considerable interest and work making foils and masts in the garage of the family home. Frank had the choice to either stop doing that and go back to flying, or do it properly and set up shop. He chose to do it properly.

As a result Starboard Products was formed. The company was incorporated in 1968 in a factory in Naremburn, a suburb on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. Frank Bethwaite and Peter Dunn being the owners/employees.

Initially the business produced NS14s, A12s, NJ, Cherubs plus foils for 18 footers, and masts for a variety of classes. They were producing over 120 boats per year, and 3 times that in spares and associated bits and pieces.

1972 saw Franks older son, Mark compete at the Olympics and Frank (who was the Aust Met officer) met Ian Bruce who was sailing Stars. Ian was looking for the next product to follow on from the Laser he had conceived a few years earlier. That was the birth of the Tasar, which grew at a phenomenal rate. The Tasar was so successful that a Laser ll was developed. For a few years it rivalled any class world wide for growth and did its stint as the IYRU youth class.

The 1976 Olympics came and went as did some 18 footer crowns and Starboard Products was producing more and more foils and masts for various classes. Foil milling machines were developed and hundreds of foils were produced each year. Just about every 18 footer had our foils, our involvement in skiffs started to grow.

Prior to that and beyond came the KBs, Singapore Airlines, and then the Prime Computer 18 footers which were the first boats produced in-house. After their success came the Exocet-B14s, the B18s and then AAMIs. It was the end of the AAMI era that spored Frank Bethwaite’s first book and the 49er. After that came the company name change, everyone knew us as “Bethwaite’s”, so changing the name to Bethwaite Design was a natural progression. During this period, the company moved from its initial home in Naremburn to premises in Harbord, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

In 2002 Frank and his wife, Nel Bethwaite retired and younger son Julian took over the business.

In 2004 the company moved again, not only from Harbord to Rose Bay, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, but from manufacturing into designing and wholesaling.