PHOTO CREDIT: BILLY BLACK
Alison Coladarci grew up riding horses and sailing in Maine. She graduated from Skidmore College in 2003 with a B.A. in Physics and minors in Mathematics and Italian Studies. Wanting to pursue a graduate degree, but oscillating between Physics and Education, she crewed on several sailing yachts and race boats for the following year. Alison was fortunate to fall in with the W-Class, Aello (Max Oertz Schooner), Morning Glory (R/P 86), Pyewacket (R/P 86), Zaraffa (R/P 66) and Equation (Andrews 68) programs. She met several highly talented and well-respected sailors who were yacht designers and engineers, whose careers aligned well with Alison’s intersts. She immediately enrolled in The Landing School's Yacht Design program and graduated the following year (2005).
Alison was fortunate enough to land her first job with Ted Fontaine (Fontaine Design Group), who took her under his wing. She only worked with Ted for a year, but he sent her to New Zealand and gave her a wonderful introduction to the yacht design process. While living in Newport, Alison regularly sailed with Tim Woodhouse on Rumours (Thompson 35) along with the J24 and Shields fleets.
Alison then worked for Sparkman & Stephens in NYC for nearly three years, where she was involved with a variety of projects from superyachts to small day sailors. She was involved with nearly every aspect of yacht design including sail plans, keel and rudder design, general arrangements, structures and styling.
In 2009, Alison moved back to Maine to work as a design & engineering consultant for Hodgdon Yachts on an 82’ high speed motor yacht. This was Alison's introduction to shipyard support/design, which she loved. Over the next 6+ years, Alison worked with Hodgdon on many projects ranging from superyacht tenders to the 100' super maxi, Comanche; working with top America’s Cup boat builders and managers on the Comanche proved to be an incredible experience and education.
Alison continues to consult on a variety of Yacht Design projects with clients such as Stephens Waring Yacht Design, Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, DLBA Naval Architects, and, since 2019, her projects have expanded into the field of Residential Architectural Design.
In her free time, Alison explores Maine with her family, rides horses and chips away at her own home’s never-ending worklist.