The judges of Concept Boat 2002, the competition to design a new recreational or commercial craft up to 24m (79ft) with a "transportable" theme, have short-listed three finalists.....
The judges of Concept Boat 2002, the competition to design a new recreational or commercial craft up to 24m (79ft) with a “transportable” theme, have short-listed three finalists. The winning entry and two runners-up will be announced on the opening day of the London Boat Show on 2nd January 2003. The competition, which was launched at the Southampton Boat Show in 2001 and is open to amateurs and professionals alike, received nearly 100 detailed entries. Organised by the British Marine Federation (BMF) and the Royal Institute of Naval Architects (RINA), the contest is now into its second year. The organisers plan to better this success with Concept Boat 2003, the open brief for which is “a new design of recreational or commercial craft of up to 24m length intended for a purpose (or purposes) specified by the entrant.”
The final results of Concept 2002 may cause a few surprises. Despite the dominance of sailboat designs submitted and the BMF insistence on secrecy until January, we have learnt that at least one of the three finalists is not a sailboat. A spokesperson for the BMF says “It’s been a difficult task for the judges, because the standard of entries was very high. We can’t reveal much before the Show, but I can tell you the winner is not British, despite the high standard of British entries”. The winner of the inaugural contest will win ‘ 5,000 and a scale-model of his or her design, to be built by students at Falmouth Maritime College. Entries for Concept Boat 2003 close in February. Rules and entry details can be seen at www.conceptboat.com
