Yacht Design Competitions?

very good idea
let's get it on!!!

 

Would be nice!

Would be nice to see different designs resulting from amateur, pros, sail, power and other diciplines. there should be not to many rules but some different categories would be needed, top of the bill would be a total, realistic, and uncommon design/project. to be built by a real boatyard

more important? Sponsors and some awards would be great

greetz,

let's get ready to RUMBLEUEUEUEUEU

 

i'm allready making a false start here....
showing a rotating deckhatch, (y)/(n)?

 

Design Contest

This is great - can't wait. The contest should have a few basic categories (each with their own winner) and an overall winner chosen from the category winners. That way, entrants can compete against similar designs, however a really great skiff can compete against a bluewater cruiser for best overall design. A design intent statement written by the designer will be important because it gives the judges (forum members?) a basis for evaluating the success of the design, i.e. how does this design fullfill the designers need?

Where do we sign up?

Cheers,

Kevin Barry

 

One problem with this, 1000 designers, 1000 completely different projects with completely different aims. we need some fairly obvious categories. Shall we say

Recreational powerboats (not PWCs) <30ft
Recreational powerboats >30ft <60ft
Recreational powerboats >60ft
"Working" powerboats [ tugs/ferries etc.]
Recreational yachts <20ft
Recreational yachts >20ft <40ft
Recreational yachts >40ft
"Working" sailing ships [ Cargo ships etc.]
Concept powerboats
Concept yachts

This should at least give some categorisation to projects. Although we must also consider the weighting of each aspect considered for judgement. For instance, does aesthetics hold more weight than the top-speed. Or do we consider the best design to be the one that deviates least (or least in a deprimental way) from the submitted brief.

Also, when should this competition be run? The summer (ie mid june onwards) would be good for me.

Just a few thoughts,

Tim B.

 

Tooooooooo MUCH!

While I think that we may need some categories, what is proposed above is, IMHO, waaaaay tooooo muuuuuuch!

What is the difference between a "recreational powerboat" and a "recreational yacht", particularly in a <20ft category? Given the dearth of sailboats listed above, does that mean that a "recreational yacht" is sail and/or power whereas a "recreational powerboat" is only power and maybe without a cabin/canopy?

Function-form-beauty are my thoughts for criteria in this design contest. Even splitting it into "power" and "sail" leaves us with the old question of "motorsailer" - what criteria defines a "motorsailer" as distinguised for a powerboat with a steadying sail (like some "lobsterboats") or a sailboat with an auxilliary motor?

KISS!!!!!!!

 

Post #1 clearly stated the guide lines. Yacht Design. That means all types and sizes. Be it sail, power, submersible, houseboat or whatever we like enough to want. Lets not make that simple statement into a personal favored type. Post your best design and we will pass judgement. No wonder it takes years to design. No one can read and understand a simple statement. A 30 day limit is long enough to sketch and write up the features. We are not going into production on day 32.

 

When does it start?

 

Evidentally, my cousins across the pond have a different interpretation of the words.

A Yacht - A water-based machine designed to use the energy of the wind for primary propulsion.

A powerboat - A water-based machine using an engine and propeller to provide a motive force.

Also, submersible yachts? interesting idea. and houseboats are, I suppose powerboats, we must be careful, here, or no-one will get a fair contest.

Tim B.

 

Dear me, all these years I have operated under the "old" gentleman's rule that only vessels of LOA 100' and over could be called a "yacht". Under 100' she was a "pinnace" or, if shorter yet, a "launch". Sigh, give me "the good ole days".

 

Tim B: Tell your man servant to put less starch in your collars. It is afflicting your thought process.

 

There are two models of online design competition that spring to mind.
1. Very simple relatively informal "mini challenge".
Basic criteria are set eg: trailerable boat.
Timeframe is short (measured in weeks not months) WIP presentations encouraged, or required.
Final entries are voted on and the entry with the most votes wins. One vote per person - give your vote to whichever entry you feel should win.
The winner gets to choose the next competition criteria.
Prizes are nothing more than knowledge you won, peer respect for winning, and experience.

2. More formal and complex categories.
Competition measured in months.
Judging based on well defined, catergorised questions.
Competition probably sponsored in order that respectable prizes can be awarded.

On another tack:
front page of this site there are references to design awards (Stephen Baker, Bo Zolland etc). The system leading to those awards may provide some framework for competition.


Rob

 

If the competition is measured in months, a single category could be chosen every x-number of months, similar to what Concept Boat does, with a broad design brief that allows plenty of flexibility to be very creative and go in many different directions, yet the designs still approach a central theme or are within a broad category that ties the whole competition together and makes one competition different than the next one x-number of months later. I suppose the danger is that the chosen category doesn't spark enough entrants in a given competition.

A more complicated competition that ran for longer may be better for attracting sponsors - the asset we have to offer sponsors is that our site gets a few thousand visitors browsing daily so we can offer exposure. If the competition is short, that's less time to give them exposure in return for donating a nice prize. Of course, too long and people could lose interest in the process.

I love the idea of forum members being able to vote and determine the winner rather than a detached judging process - it will make the competition much more lively and knowing that the community itself chose the winner I think will spark the future competitions even more. On the other hand, I fear that also could potentially make it more difficult to attract sponsors initially, as the final outcome of the first such competition is more unpredictable to them. But it's one thing that would set this apart from Concept Boat for example. And, we could always start small and simple to prove the concept is of interest and grow it into a more complicated (and in a little time) established competition that would attract better prizes as we go. The second will be a lot easier than the first

 

Why not copy from the most sucessfull on line forum and just do it. It is a sign of great bussiness ability to copy the most sucessful of anything as a starting point. Stop theorizing and do it. Yes, I am known not to take too many prisioners.

 

what how and when whatever, i belive a boat design happening is a good idea.
tommorow i'll be rating the "student design gallery" for a start, cool!