CAMDEN — Belfast-based boat designer Bob Stephens will share principles and examples of Spirit of Tradition (SoT) yachts Wednesday, July 26, at 7 p.m., during a free seminar hosted by the Camden Yacht Club. This free presentation is one of the club’s four Sunset Seminars this year.

Stephens will explore the finer points of designing within the SoT genre, which melds the aesthetics of classic or traditional yachts and working craft with the latest in modern technology, naval architecture, and structural design and materials. He has helped lead the genre’s development since its beginning in the late 1990s — first as chief designer at Brooklin Boat Yard and then as a principal in his and Paul Waring’s partnership, Stephens Waring Design (SWD).

Featuring the 68-foot sloop Cirrus, SWD’s latest built design, Stephens will discuss what makes a successful SoT yacht. He will explore various routes to the aesthetic cues that meet the bar for the SoT genre and discuss how far designers can stray from classic lines as inspiration. This talk will examine the process that led to the sloop’s creation and show how she embraces modern technology in shape, structure, sailing systems, and interior fit-out. Stephens will also share images of SWD’s body of work by top marine photographers, including Camden’s Alison Langley.

Stephens began experimenting with boat design at age ten and began his professional design career in 1985 with a catalog of small wooden boats for amateur builders. In 1993, he joined Brooklin Boat Yard as a junior designer and worked with Joel White on the Center Harbor 31s, the W-Class 76’ racing yachts, and others. After serving as chief designer there from 1998 to 2011, Stephens joined his colleague Paul Waring to form the independent firm Stephens Waring Design in Belfast. Together they incorporate luxury, elegance, and high performance in yachts of modern wood and composite construction, defining — and stretching the definition of — the SoT genre. Their sailboats include the 65’ sloop Anna (home-ported in Camden), the 91’ world cruising yawl Bequia, and a series of large daysailers, culminating with the 50’ Ginger.

They also design power yachts (from 24-foot classic speedboats to 50-plus-foot express cruisers) and waterborne structures and residences. Stephens’s boatbuilding expertise and extensive sailing experience shape his work, often described as “innovation inspired by tradition,” according to the Camden Yacht Club, in a news release.

The Yacht Club, located at 68 Bay View Street, hosts the nonprofit Camden Area Youth Seamanship Program (CAYSP), which is open to all young people in the community. Voluntary donations for CAYSP’s generous scholarships, which make sailing lessons affordable to all, will be gratefully accepted at the seminar.

Complete details about this year’s Sunset Seminars are available at https://camdenyachtclub.org/sunset-seminars.