Even if it does not show, the GIORMAX is a classical boat, in the sense that it is a re-elaboration of a project of the nineteen-thirties. History can be quite odd at times. The boat may be found in a book – which is now unavailable - published in 1935 by the magazine “La Vela e il Motore”, “Practical Guide for the Construction of boats”, written by Mario Corsico. He recounts that two boys from Genoa had found a stranded sea-plane float on the beach and to enjoy themselves, they had tried to fit a sail onto it, together with a sort of centreboard. They, surprisingly, discovered that it actually worked and sped on nicely. Through this casual discovery a really new sailing class had been born and was named GIORMAX because the two boys were called George and Max - and had already become widespread before the Second World War. I do not know, however, if it was the charm of this anecdote or that of an extremely simple and essential design that gave me stimulus to re-design and realize a new GIORMAX during a construction course. Of the original GIORMAX, I have maintained its original plan, modifying the sail (slightly smaller and with a single main sail) and the design of the rudder, a little bit more modern: I have added two small decks around the cockpit to make it wider so as to be able to sit more comfortably, as well as to create a support when one has to lean outboard. The boat was built in four days without excessive effort and by the end of the course, was ready for launching. When it showed up for the sailing race, its very unusual shape evoked quite a few ironic comments and various comparisons with other objects which have nothing to do with boats: the closest comparison, I believe, is that of an old blotter,
