Bourbon Liberty Series
A new generation of vessels

Guido Perla: a man and a company

The care given to the design is a factor in productivity and quality and only innovation ensures progress

"You have a right to a mistake, but not to mediocrity." Guido Perla's Credo is this saying, repeated to him by his father. Born and raised in Colombia in an Italian family, Guido Perla was always fascinated by the sea. After studies in mechanical engineering, he began to work for shipyards before pursuing studies in naval architecture at the University of Michigan in the United States. In 1979, he founded Guido Perla & Associates and signed his first contract to design a tuna vessel. The naval industry during that period was at its lowest. Guido Perla started with a very small staff on the island of Vashon where he still lives, near Seattle. Now located in Seattle, GPA employs over 50 people—naval architects, engineers and designers.

GPA works for a number of clients—in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Norway, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and France. He designs all types of vessels, from cruise ships to luxury yachts or floating casinos to ferries, tugs, scientific research vessels and offshore oil service support vessels.

Guido Perla based his success on this belief: the care given to the design is a factor for productivity and quality for shipyards. And only innovation ensures progress—the greatest risk is specifically—not to take a risk. This philosophy has proven its worth since today, new concepts like the diesel-electric engine or the Z-Drive propulsion, which he was among the first to implement, are now becoming the standard.