Dudley Dix is a Westlawn graduate and has been designing professionally since 1980. He won the Cruising World Design Competition in 1979 with the CW975 before going professional. His SHEARWATER 45 was selected as Traditional Voyager of the Year and overall Boat of the Year 2011 at the Annapolis Sailboat Show. His Paper Jet was awarded the Outstanding Innovation Award at the 2007 Wooden Boat Show in Mystic CT and a Special Award at the 2009 Georgetown Wooden Boat Show in South Carolina.

He has built three large offshore yachts of his own and many smaller ones. He has sailed trans-Atlantic 4 times on boats of his own design.

He moved his family and business to Virginia Beach (USA) in 2004.

Dudley Dix has published many articles and one book, "Shaped by Wind & Wave", primarily about boat design. He is currently working on another two boating books, when time permits. He has been a speaker at IBEX and various other boating conventions.