David J

David J. Buckley

David & Kristen Buckley at Home

David J. Buckley had the great good fortune to be born into a “water oriented” family that spent time both fishing and boating during his upbringing. Originally from New Jersey, David’s family moved to Bradenton, Florida where he was introduced to sailing in his early years. David’s teen years were spent racing dinghies and small keelboats in the Tampa Bay area. He crewed for club races and family cruises to destinations such as the Florida Keys, and the Dry Tortugas. His passion for cruising and offshore sailing grew rapidly.

David’s passion led him to work as a sail maker and sailing instructor while in high school, in addition to being an offensive lineman on his high school football team. After high school he attended the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Kennebunkport, Maine. He completed both the building and design programs, and worked as a design teaching assistant in his last year. Hired directly out of school by Lyman-Morse, custom boat builders, David worked as a draftsman for two years. David’s tenure at Lyman-Morse offered him experience building boats at very high standards, in addition to assisting with sea trials and deliveries; including trips to Bermuda and, most recently, from Bermuda to Antigua. While in Maine, David also took advantage of ice boating and designed and built a convertible skateboard style windsurfer which he sailed on both ice and pavement as the weather dictated.

David’s desire to design boats, sail, and live in warmer climates led him to Long Beach, California where he designed boats under the direction of Alan Andrews Yacht Design. Alan’s firm focused on the design of high performance sailing vessels. David also worked on concepts with Randy Reynolds Design and helped create web page advertisements and 3-D renderings for high performance sailing catamarans. He continues to work with Reynolds via the Internet when needed. In addition to design exposure, California gave David experience with competitive racing, including the Ensenada Race, plus good surfing and the live aboard lifestyle. After three years living aboard his 27’ sloop in southern California, David decided to move back east to be closer to family.

On his return to Florida, friends offered David an opportunity to race in the Charleston Race Week at Charleston, South Carolina., where David met his future wife and cruising partner Kristen. Within a few months of meeting, they brought their lives together and started searching for a live aboard cruising sailboat. In the spring of 2005 they found a 38 foot sloop in Ft. Lauderdale, delivered her to Charleston, and named her “Sayonara”. David calls “Sayonara” his test bed as he has been able to experiment and implement his ideas while transforming this 30 year old boat into a live aboard cruiser.

While living in Charleston and studying for his captain’s license, David worked as wooden boat builder, did boat repair and maintenance, delivered boats, and was a sailing instructor. Once licensed, David became captain of a 65’wooden tour boat located near Kiawah Island. During the off season, David structurally restored large areas of the hull and superstructure of this 20 year old vessel in order to maintain Coast Guard certification.

After four years of planning and preparation, David and Kristen left Charleston to go cruising in the spring of 2008. The Internet allows David to continue his design work while traveling aboard “Sayonara”. They are currently sailing in New England.

David’s sea experience coupled with his education and diverse work experience makes him a highly qualified person to work with MacNaughton Yacht Designs.

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