Ask the average student with little or no knowledge of the superyacht industry to design a long range explorer vessel, measuring 75m and 2,800 gross tonnes, and the chances are he or she will not know where to start
Eight students from Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Central Lancashire Universities were invited by Superyacht UK, in association within the British Marine Federation, to take part in the competition to design such a craft.
They were told that the client was a young single male client in his late 30s and the design had include a master cabin and five additional guest cabins, with room for a crew of approximately 28 and be able to transit the North West Passage and also the Polar regions.
Then the organisers told the students that they had to draw it all by hand during the CWM FX London Boat Show
The event sponsored by BMT Nigel Gee and Pendennis Shipyard was designed to raise the profile of the essential hand-drawing skill which is quickly becoming a lost art; it is also to increase awareness of the marine industry as a potential career option and ensure more talent is available for the design houses.
David Rowles, a third year student from Coventry University, scooped the top prize a four week internship at Pendennis Shipyard.
It wasn’t a clear cut decision however; two of the students – Andrei Carasu from Plymouth University and William Morris from the University of Wolverhampton – were awarded Highly Commended for their efforts.
Also taking part were Adam Dempsey and Jake Donnelly from the University of Central Lancashire, Mark Hopper from Coventry University, Richard Marshall from the University of Wolverhampton and Guneet Sidhu from Plymouth University.
David had a head start however, he had already enjoyed a six month stint working with de Voogt, part of the Feadship cooperative. His philosophy was not to simply start drawing first, but think before starting; ensuring the client’s experience of joy and excitement on his own yacht was captured by the designer. This was praised by the judges who could see he had clearly thought about the client. He had clearly listened to the brief, without stilting his imagination.
Sharing his views of the competition, David Rowles said: “It has been an amazing experience as I am totally enthused by boats. The competition has presented a lot of opportunities and there is so much to be achieved from being involved. It will also help to get us recognised. The invitation was a nice surprise, and I entered with hesitating.”