A "let them eat cake" kinda moment, scarier times, and something to think about next time you go out to eat...
I know quite a few designers of boats and most of them are very cool people with great ideas...
That said, there is a problem with the way things work in the whole yacht design gig which basically comes down to this... It's mostly rich folks who commission designs.
Which is one of the reasons that you don't see a lot of creative time being focused on more inexpensive designs, crafty frugal ways to build a better boat, or better boats for the working class. It's not what rich people want.
Folks who commission boats are just not interested in the sort of boats that you or I can afford or might be interested in building or sailing and, as a result, it's not all that surprising that most marine design firms cater towards those with deep pockets.
It's also a path of least resistance sort of thing... BFBs (Big Frelling Boats) are a lot easier to design on a lot of levels because you don't have to be creative with small spaces and a limited budget. It's a lot harder to design a 28-foot cruiser for a couple to sail away on than an 85-footer with the same design brief. Of course, the 85-boat, more often than not, has a lot more work (spelled billable hours) involved because it is a bigger project but it's not exactly rocket science...
I hasten to add that, on the other hand, my experience working for and with very rich people, is that it is never easy. The difficulty is seldom actual design problems but more along the lines of keeping rich people who feel entitled happy.
As it happens, that also happens to be my own personal vision of hell.
Which is why, whenever possible, we should support boat designers that actually put in some effort to designing boats for those of us not born with trust funds or have stock boat plan programs that are affordable.
Buy some plans, build a boat...
Makes sense to me.
Listening to Jamey Johnson
So it goes...
Bruce+
2 days ago
