When Bill Roue left his job in the family business, Roue’s Carbonated Waters, in 1934 to work full time as a naval architect, it was said that he “turned from soda water to salt water.” That decision was an easy one for the self-taught yacht designer who had been “moonlighting” as a naval architect for years. Not only had he already designed the famous fishing/racing schooner Bluenose, he had also designed many individual yachts and class vessels, many of which still celebrate Nova Scotia’s cherished and vibrant sailing tradition. But who was this Nova Scotian who liked nothing better than “messing about in boats”?

William James Roue, the second son of James Roue and Grace (Penaligan) Roue was born in Halifax on April 27,1879. Bill’s grandfather had immigrated to Nova Scotia in the early 19th century and by the 1880’s, his sons, John and James (Bill’s father) established Roue’s Carbonated Waters Limited, a soft drink firm. By the age of six, Bill was not only building toy wooden boats but adding lead ballast to perfect their trim as racing craft. Young Bill showed promise in school but was more interested in wandering down to the waterfront to watch the sailing vessels. Frank Bell, a Halifax lawyer, recognizing the boy’s interest in boats gave him a book on naval architecture. Bill soon joined the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron where he became known as an avid racer and a regular user of the club’s library of nautical books.

He soon supplemented this interest by taking a course in mechanical drafting at the Victoria School of Art and Design.He joined the family soda water business in 1903 and five years later married Winnifred Conrad. They moved to Dartmouth to what was to be their family home for the next 67 years. By 1916, the family had grown with the birth of sons James, twins Harry and William, and daughter Frances. William, sadly, died at birth. In 1907, Frank Bell commissioned him to design a yacht launched two year’s later as Babette, thus beginning his career as a naval architect. By 1920, he had completed 16 designs and his reputation grew in both sailing and commercial marine communities.

In the same year, Senator William H. Dennis, publisher of the Halifax Herald, donated a cup, the Halifax Herald North Atlantic Fishermen’s International Trophy to be awarded to the winner of a race between the fastest working fishing vessels in Canada and the United States. After the Gloucester schooner Esperanto defeated the Lunenburg vessel Delawana in the first series of races for the trophy, a group of Nova Scotian businessmen formed the Bluenose Schooner Company and commissioned Roue to design a vessel which would bring the trophy back to Nova Scotia. His design of a fast fishing schooner was entrusted to the Lunenburg shipbuilding firm of Smith & Rhuland. It has been suggested that some changes to the original plans suggested by her captain, Angus Walters and approved of by Roue during the construction of the vessel, made her faster, however Roue always felt that if anything, it limited her speed. On March 26, 1921, Roue’s design number 17 and Smith and Rhuland’s hull number 121 was launched with the name, Bluenose. Bluenose took the Trophy from the Americans in October 1921 and defended her title four times over the next 17 years. Roue was always consulted by Captain Walters during these races and when asked the secret of the vessel’s success, Roueanswered self-effacingly: “I gave her the power to carry sail.” Bluenose became a symbol of Canada’s proud seafaring tradition and her image still appears on the dime and has been the subject of two postage stamp designs.

Except for a brief stint in New York, Bill Roue spent most of his life in Nova Scotia. As a naval architect he also designed dozens of working boats from ferries to pilot boats. During the Second World War he designed a sectional landing barge for the British Ministry of War Transport, all of which were built in five shipyards throughout the Maritime Provinces under the watchful eye of their designer.

Although Bill Roue is perhaps best-known for his design of Bluenose and Bluenose II, his contribution to competitive and recreational sailing in Nova Scotia is perhaps his greatest legacy. Roue vessels, with names like Babette, Norseman, Haligonian, Malay, Little Haligonian, Kittiwake, Hayseed IV and Venture, won numerous local and international races over the years besides providing their owners with countless hours of recreational sailing. Hundreds of vessels based on class designs like the Roue 20 and Bluenose Sloop have also provided Nova Scotians with opportunities to hone their racing skills and enjoy the pleasure of sailing.

Bio Courtesy of David Flemming