Alfredo Lagos Silva (ESP)

Alfredo Lagos was born in Vigo on August 29, 1926.

To speak of Alfredo Lagos is to speak of the family shipyard to which he dedicated his entire life through his various facets: builder, designer, businessman, sailor and organizer of the Bayonne-Finisterre nautical Rally in its many editions since 1972.

Alfredo’s father started the shipyard in Vigo in 1915 and Alfredo began working at the shipyard in 1947 while studying mechanical engineering. Together with his brother Juan, they lead Lagos Shipyards to gain international prestige by designing & building Stars, Dragons, 505s and Snipes, the class he fell in love with. 

In 1951 he began to build a double lined Snipe hull, the first diagonal interior and the second longitudinal exterior, with a layer of impregnated canvas.

Alfredo introduced several design changes that caused consternation among the Snipe Rules committee but can be seen in the modern Snipe of today; mainly in the bow and stern.  He also introduced stronger, lighter wood for construction.  His boats were winning. 

Over 42 years, Lagos built over 400 Snipes, but never moved to fiberglass. 

After his retirement from the shipyard, he continued to restore classic boats to their former beauty. 

So, it is most fitting that Alfredo Lagos was selected as a SCIRA Hall of Fame inductee for 2023.