The difference between a Naval Architect and a Yacht Designer

Teenna, since your overview is basically right, nobody will argue...

However, it is not so much about design disciplines in reality, as it is about marketing.

I remember what my friend and yacht broker Bob McKeage said when I was about to exhibit my designs. Put your name in big letters all over the wall!

Stupid me put a huge printout of a sailing yacht there...

At the same show, another designer did not even participate but was holding a big party at a famous Villa nearby. Guess who got the most attention...?

Like Jon Bannenberg did, I consider myself a designer. No less, no more.

I like to know what I am designing and if it is a hand tool, I learn how this tool should be used and how it can be improved and perhaps also manufactured more efficient. Then I add some design appeal and consult the engineers about materials, moulds and costs. Finally I am doing the packaging and creates a communication platform for the marketing.

The same goes for designing furniture, clothing, travel goods, houses, boats or yachts, I do what I can do and let other people add what is missing until I get the whole as a complete and functional design.

My latest production boat needed a hull design and I said to myself, how hard can it be? As a designer I know what I have seen and what have been working good and not so good. So I made a hull design that turned out to be really good. Maybe pure luck and on a bigger yacht I would definitely use a naval architect for the hull. As I am today using engineers for dimensioning of material for structural strength and electricians for the electric drawings.

If somebody is calling himself an interior designer, a yacht designer or a naval architect and what kind of education is behind this, is not the most important to me. It is what comes out of it, regardless of there are inhouse people or staff at the shipyard who is doing certain parts of the overall design.

There you have the only problem, some of these guys are better in marketing themselves than creating good yachts...