Esthetics

[dskira]

For a sail or a motorboat, what is the meaning of esthetics for you.
Do you look the boat as a whole, or by the details, the practicality first then the look.
Let say you have to give up few inches on headroom to have better look, will you do it?
Let say the boat have only one head for six people since it is the only way to have a good looking design, will you do it?
I don't talk about seaworthiness, just the relation esthetique and practicality, if you will give up features for looks and if esthetics is the first priority in your list.
Daniel

[hoytedow]

Function over form, first the whole, then the minutiae.

[Pierre R]

Esthetics is very high on my list of priorities and I will give up accomodations to get it but I will not give up on saftey, seaway comfort and seaworthiness. Fortunately for me the esthetics that are pleasing to me don't really interfer with safety, seaway comfort, and seaworthiness.

I am a displacement power boat guy and not so much a snailboater.

[Alik]

For me, good design is a successful combination of 5 basic categories:

- esthetics (appearance of exterior and interior)
- performance (speed, seaworthiness, controllability, etc.)
- comfort (including noise, lighting, motions/accelerations, climate/ventilation, accommodations and general practical features)
- safety (stability, freeboard, strength/durability, systems, etc.)
- cost (both construction and maintenance)

So basically esthetics is only one category. For some designs customer will put more attention to esthetics, say sacrificing comfort or cost.

PS Number of heads on board is not esthetics, it is comfort in my terms.

[Tad]

See......

Rules for Classic Design

[Tad]

It's an endlessly varying mix....which is why we still have stuff to do....

Occasionally pragmatism takes precedent, but I usually argue against it as an ugly boat will retain less value long term.

For instance the original Hinckley Picnic Boat doesn't have full headroom in the forward cabin/head area....aesthetics took precedent and the overall look of the boat sold it. The new one (much bigger and heavier) probably has full headroom in the head...so they have a new feature to sell...but I bet they don't sell anywhere like the original.

[Easy Rider]

We must be talking about the word aesthetics.
On another thread many weighed in swooning about the beauty of a particular boat and I thought it was butt ugly. Aesthetics is the element of beauty perceived to be more beautiful than just pleasing and opposite to utilitarian in appearance to the perceiver. It can be the boat as a whole or one small part. It must be the most important part of yacht design in that to please people is it's mission or reason for existence. There is a great deal about beauty that is science and a discipline. When a person that is knowledgeable about such things deems something aesthetically beautiful we should take note and try to retain the elements therein so that we may aspire to have that knowledge as well.

Easy Rider