Worse design

What are the aspects of a design that makes it really bad?

 

Even though it is difficult to define, I would say that UGLY is aa attribute that can alone spoil a design.

Even the fastest, seaworthiest and whateverest design is a bad one if it fails to please the eye.

 

For me it is if a design is prone to act unpredictably, or not intuitively.
For example, a braking system on a car is a poor design if pressing the brake pedal slows the car as expected for the force applied on the pedal, but a tiny bit more force produces a very large change in the car's speed.

 

I'm a big fan of form follows function....so the first thing a good design has to do is to perform the function as it was intended.
AFTER that has been achieved/assured, we can start tweaking from a style perspective.

 

I am not a big fan to tail fins . I like them on jets , but not so much on boats ,
unless they are the kind that stick down into the water .

 

I would agree to Leo.
No matters how good looking the boat does have. When performance is crappy.

Also I will agree with TKK! An ugly boat with ordinary handling isn´t many peoples favorite either.

Maybe a sailboat using plates instead of ordinary sails is a bad design? As the performance was the same as with canvas but much more complicated to handle. I would call it a bad design.

Maybe it would work if I continued to develop the idéa. As it also was ugly it was a really bad design. But I did have fun.

Gonzo!
This thread can be very interesting!
And I do apreciate it as I hope to get fun reading the answers.

 

Putting a 36ft interior into a 26ft boat then cramp 57ft equipment list and electrical systems into her....

 

I think a boat that doesn't float would be a pretty good indication of poor design.

or poor construction.

or just bad luck.

 

Not to forget the power of a 70ft.

And form follows function was wrong from the time this statement came up.

In yacht design I often found, that the nice appearance, a completely coherent and attractive style, goes hand in hand with a thoroughly successful performance.

My opinion is, that a good NA / designer, worth his salt, takes the time to focus on both aspects.

my 2c

Richard

 

I think that form follows function may produce a nice boat. However, the function of modern pleasure boats is to have the most interior space with as much shiny stuff as the boat will handle.

 

Do you like my new mega flair , very Euro I think.

 

Looks nice, but there is nothing Euro in it!

Thats a typical US mistake or misnomer, what is known there as "Euro Style" you will find nowhere in Europe. In fact it is absolutely unsaleable in Europe.

Cheers
Richard

 

But "pleasing to the eye" is a purely subjective proposition. Sort of like "one mans meat is another mans poison" I like my boats to be salty looking while my neighbor thinks that glitz is the defining feature. In the end, I believe that safety is the most important consideration.

 

Yes you are right , is this better ?

 

Now that can get us into a fight over light versus heavy displacement or canoe stern versus transom